In a crucial decision delivered on Wednesday, Justice N.V. Shravan Kumar of the Telangana High Court issued an interim order, effectively suspending a directive from the Home Secretary that had allowed a significant increase in ticket prices for the highly anticipated Telugu film, They Call Him OG.
The Home Secretary’s memorandum, issued on September 19, had granted permission for a special screening of the movie on Wednesday with an inflated ticket price of ₹800, alongside other increased rates slated to continue until October 4. However, advocate Barla Mallesh Yadav challenged this, arguing in a writ petition that the Home Secretary lacked the legal authority to approve such a hike in cinema ticket prices.
Citing the Andhra Pradesh Cinemas (Regulation) Act of 1955, the judge emphasized that the City Police Commissioner in Hyderabad is the sole competent licensing authority for such directives. Therefore, the Home Secretary was not legally empowered to issue orders concerning film exhibition ticket rates. The court affirmed that only the designated licensing authority—in this case, the Hyderabad Police Commissioner—is authorized to establish maximum ticket prices in accordance with existing regulations.
Furthermore, Justice Kumar instructed the Hyderabad Police Commissioner to strictly enforce the Censor Board’s rating, ensuring that only individuals aged 18 and above are permitted to watch the film. The next hearing for this case has been scheduled for October 9.