PIL seeks guidelines to curb black marketing, ticket scalping for Coldplay concert, major events

A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay High Court, calling for strict guidelines to prevent black marketing and ticket scalping at large-scale events.

The plea, prompted by alleged irregularities during the sale of tickets for British band Coldplay's upcoming concert in Navi Mumbai in January 2025, was mentioned for urgent hearing before a division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar.

Filed by advocate Amit Vyas, the petition highlights widespread illegalities in the ticketing process for major events, such as concerts and live shows. The PIL specifically points to issues faced by fans during the sale of Coldplay concert tickets on the BookMyShow platform, where tickets reportedly sold out within minutes, only to appear later on secondary websites at inflated prices.

An advocate representing Vyas informed the court that secondary websites are still offering Coldplay tickets at exorbitant rates, further raising concerns about the lack of regulation in the online ticketing industry.

The petition alleges that these practices not only exploit fans but also violate the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, which require fair practices by e-commerce entities.

The court noted that a police inquiry, initiated by Vyas through a complaint to the Economic Offences Wing, is already underway. The division bench has scheduled the next hearing for November, following the Diwali vacation.

The PIL seeks the court’s intervention in establishing strict guidelines to prevent ticket black marketing, scalping, and touting, which have reportedly been rampant during events like IPL matches, the 2023 Cricket World Cup, and concerts by artists like Taylor Swift and Diljit Dosanjh.