Gap in legislation allowed ‘ticket scalping’, say lawyers, advocate legal, technological measures

The absence of regulation in India’s ticketing industry has left consumers vulnerable to ‘ticket scalping’ and is impacting the entertainment industry, government revenue, and fans’ trust in the system, say legal experts.

‘Ticket scalping’ refers to the illegal practice under which tickets for music concerts and similar events are resold at inflated prices.

The issue came under the spotlight last month after concerns about ticketing scams clouded the highly anticipated Coldplay concert scheduled for January next year in Mumbai as millions of fans scrambled for a limited number of tickets and turned to social media to vent their anger. Fans in Delhi were similarly miffed on finding out that the tickets for a show by singer Diljit Dosanjh, to be held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on October 26 as part of his ‘Dil-Luminati Tour’, were being resold on online platforms at several times their original price.

After tickets, starting from ₹2,499, for the show were reportedly sold out within six minutes of being put out by the official vendor, Zomato Live, on October 9, the tickets are currently offered for resale on several third-party platforms with the starting price of ₹9,215 to as much as ₹1,74,023 for the premium lounge seats.

Following this, two public interest litigation (PIL) pleas were filed before the Delhi High Court, accusing resellers of exploiting the high demand and pushing fans to purchase tickets at exorbitant prices. The PILs argued that unethical practices like using bots to hoard tickets had undermined fair access.

Notice to Centre

On Thursday, the High Court asked the Centre to respond to one of the petitions seeking a framework to regulate the resale of concert tickets through authorised platforms and avoid illegal selling activities. The court sought the reply within four weeks and posted the hearing on February 18, 2025, when another petition on the subject is already listed for hearing.

Legal vacuum

India’s legal system currently lacks specific provisions to regulate ticket scalping, allowing unscrupulous resellers to exploit the market. Advocate Jatin Yadav, representing a petitioner in one of the cases, said, “India, being relatively new to hosting large-scale concerts, is still developing the infrastructure and policies necessary to manage such events effectively”. “Unlike countries such as the United States, where many States have passed laws to control ticket resale, or France, where the French Consumer Code prohibits reselling tickets above their face value, India has no specific legislation in place to address this problem,” he added.

Mr. Yadav said many of the third-party platforms indulging in ticket scalping are international entities that are exploiting the fact that Indian laws do not apply to them.

He suggested that “advanced technological measures, such as restricting the use of bots for bulk ticket purchases, ensuring identity verification during transactions, and imposing penalties on unauthorised sellers must be enforced to check the practice of ticket scalping”.

Advocate Mishi Choudhary, founder of SFLC.in, an advocacy platform that works for digital rights, said, “While a plea has been filed in the Delhi High Court, we don’t know whether courts are the right place to set rules for the market. It is Parliament that should address the issue”.

Published - October 25, 2024 12:56 am IST