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Lights, Camera, Lawsuit: Consumer Court Slaps PVR Inox for Ad-Cluttered Movie Delay
In a ruling that could make multiplex owners rethink their pre-show ad marathons, the has held PVR Inox Ltd. accountable for delaying a movie by nine minutes to air commercial ads. Bench president Smt. P. Kasthuri , along with members Sri Gajjala Venkateswarlu and Sri Makyam Vijay Kumar , partly allowed the complaint of advocate in (CC No. 47 of 2025), directing PVR Inox to pay Rs 5,000 in compensation for mental agony and Rs 3,000 in litigation costs. BookMyShow escaped liability as a mere ticketing intermediary.
The 10 PM Show That Started at 10:09 – And the Fallout
On , complainant , a 24-year-old advocate from Ramachandrapuram, booked two tickets worth Rs 483 via BookMyShow (Opposite Party No. 2) for the 10:00 PM screening of Court: State Vs. Nobody at INOX Leisure Ltd.'s Sattva Necklace Mall in Hyderabad (Opposite Party No. 1). INOX had merged into PVR Inox (Opposite Party No. 3) via a 2023 NCLT order.
Gujjeti and his friend settled into Screen No. 7, expecting the film – which he believed ran 1 hour 53 minutes – to wrap by 11:53 PM. Instead, ads and trailers rolled from 10:00 PM to 10:09 PM. The movie finally started nine minutes late, ending around 12:02 AM. As a lawyer with alleged post-movie client meets, Gujjeti claimed this caused unquantifiable professional loss, harassment, and agony. He sought a refund, Rs 8 lakhs compensation, and Rs 2 lakhs costs under .
Complainant's Fire: "Ads Stole My Time and Business"
Gujjeti argued the delay was a blatant and . The ticket (Ex. A1) promised a 10:00 PM start, yet commercials wasted prime time, breaching the contract and enabling undue profit. Video evidence (Ex. A3) backed his timeline, painting the theatre's actions as exploitative.
Theatres Strike Back: "PSAs Mandatory, Ads Our Right"
BookMyShow distanced itself, insisting it only facilitated bookings on INOX's data – no control over screenings. Tickets were issued flawlessly (Booking ID: TPAVJHS).
PVR Inox countered fiercely. The film's certificate (Ex. B3) clocked it at 150.03 minutes (2.5 hours), debunking Gujjeti's runtime. Midnight client meets? "Absurd," they scoffed. Ads? Protected under as trade rights ( K.C. Cinemas vs. State of J&K , 2023 SCC). Mandatory PSAs, news reels, and safety slides – per guidelines (Ex. B4) and Uphaar tragedy precedents – must air post-seating. Video-recording the screen? Copyright violation under the .
Decoding the Delay: When Tickets Trump Trailers
The Commission dissected timelines meticulously. Gujjeti's runtime was off, but irrelevant – the core issue was the post-10:00 PM ads. I&B's memorandum mandates PSAs within 10 minutes before the film begins , not as a delay excuse. "The start of the movie is delayed by 9 minutes as against the scheduled time mentioned under Ex. A1. The ticket issued to the complainant clearly specifies the show time as 10:00 pm which indicates a between the parties."
Crucially:
"Any deviation without prior disclosure or consent amounts to
. The delay caused was not due to any technical or some other reasons but for playing commercial advertisements after the start of movie time... amounts to
and
."
BookMyShow got a clean chit: its intermediary role ended at ticket delivery.
Key Observations from the Bench
"The ticket issued to the complainant clearly specifies the show time as 10:00 pm which indicates a between the parties."
"The conduct of Opposite party No.1 i.e., the presently the Opposite party No.3 amounts to and ."
"We further direct the opposite party No.3 to adhere to the screening time as printed on the ticket (contract) without any deviations."
Verdict Lights Up: Compensation, Not Refund – and a Stern Warning
The complaint was partly allowed against PVR Inox: - Rs 5,000 for mental agony (no proof for larger professional loss). - Rs 3,000 litigation costs. - Strict adherence to ticket times henceforth. - Dismissed against BookMyShow; no refund as movie was watched fully.
Non-compliance within 45 days triggers 9% interest. This precedent reinforces ticket times as sacred contracts, potentially curbing ad overloads nationwide. Consumers, take note: your watch sets the clock.
