Another Twist: Telangana Brings Back Parking Fee?

Over the last couple of months, Telangana theatres have been contradicted by public opinion against the imposition of vehicle parking fees. Telangana High Court has intervened in this matter and let us have a look into the same.

The Telangana High Court has granted relief to single screen and standalone cinema theatres across the state by staying an earlier order that had prevented them from collecting parking fees.

The case was argued by advocates S. Niranjan Reddy and Sirgapoor Sahil Reddy on behalf of theatre owners. They contended that the previous order, which suspended the collection of parking fees, was issued without hearing the affected parties, particularly the theatre owners.

After considering the arguments, the High Court observed that the original petition was filed against parking fees being charged by a single theatre.

Therefore, the broader order suspending the Government Order could not be applied universally to all theatres. The court clarified that such a restriction must be limited only to the theatre involved in the petition.

With this clarification, the High Court effectively allowed all single screen theatres in Telangana to resume collecting parking fees. The restriction will now apply only to Asian Konark Theatre, which was directly linked to the case.

This interim relief brings significant clarity for theatre owners across the state, while the legal proceedings on the issue are expected to continue.