February 10, 2026 : The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Medak at Sangareddy, has held that screening commercial advertisements after the scheduled show time printed on a movie ticket constitutes deficiency in service and an unfair trade practice. In its order dated 09 February 2026 in C.C. No. 47 of 2025, titled HarshaVardhan Gujjeti vs. M/s. INOX Leisure Ltd. & Ors., the Commission comprising Smt. P. Kasthuri (President), Sri Gajjala Venkateswarlu (Member), and Sri Makyam Vijay Kumar (Member), partly allowed the complaint and directed PVR INOX Limited to pay compensation and costs.
The complainant, an advocate, had booked two tickets through BookMyShow for the film Court: State vs Nobody for the 10:00 PM show on 15 March 2025. The ticket (Ex.A1) clearly reflected the show time as 10:00 PM. However, instead of commencing the film at the scheduled time, the theatre screened commercial advertisements and trailers from 10:00 PM to about 10:09 PM. The film began only around 10:09 PM and concluded at approximately 12:02 AM.
The complainant contended that this delay caused him to miss pre-scheduled professional engagements and client meetings, leading to inconvenience, mental agony and professional loss. He sought refund of the ticket amount of ₹483 along with compensation and litigation expenses.
PVR INOX, formerly INOX Leisure Ltd. pursuant to an amalgamation approved by the National Company Law Tribunal, argued that it was required to screen Public Service Announcements and other government-mandated content. It also relied on its fundamental right to carry on trade under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution, submitting that exhibiting advertisements formed part of its business operations. The theatre further disputed the complainant’s calculation of the film’s duration, referring to the CBFC certificate which recorded the film’s runtime as approximately 150 minutes.
BookMyShow (Big Tree Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.) maintained that it merely acted as an intermediary facilitating ticket bookings and had no control over theatre operations or screening schedules.
The Commission examined the Central Government guidelines governing the exhibition of Public Service Announcement films. Referring to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting memorandum dated 30.11.2023 (Ex.B3), it observed that approved PSA films are to be screened within ten minutes before the beginning of the film package, and any additional public service content may be exhibited just before the start of the movie package or during the interval. The Commission held that these guidelines do not authorise postponing the commencement of the movie beyond the printed show time.
On facts, the Commission found that the delay was not attributable to mandatory PSAs or technical reasons, but to commercial advertisements screened for revenue generation. It observed that the show time printed on the ticket creates a contractual obligation between the theatre and the consumer. Any deviation from that timing without prior disclosure or consent amounts to breach of that obligation. Accordingly, the theatre’s conduct was held to amount to deficiency in service and an unfair trade practice.
While declining to order refund of the ticket amount, the Commission awarded ₹5,000 as compensation for mental agony and inconvenience and ₹3,000 towards litigation costs. It also directed PVR INOX to strictly adhere to the screening time printed on tickets without deviation. The complaint against BookMyShow was dismissed, the Commission holding that it had no role in determining screening schedules.
The order directs compliance within 45 days, failing which the compensation amount will carry interest at 9% per annum from the date of complaint until realisation
