Following reports of scams and black marketing of tickets for Coldplay‘s upcoming Music Of The Spheres Tour in India, a formal criminal complaint has been filed against BookMyShow and its key managerial personnel. The surged demand for tickets led to a chaotic situation where tickets were allegedly resold for as high as Rs 3 lakh, prompting legal action to address the alleged large-scale online ticketing scam.
According to a document making the rounds on the internet, the complaint has been filed by Amit Vyas, founder partner at Mumbai-based Vertices Partners law firm, with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Mumbai, on behalf of Coldplay fans across India.
The case has reportedly been filed against BookMyShow, Live Nation Entertainment, and their promoters, directors, and key managerial personnel for the alleged large-scale online ticketing scam for Coldplay’s live concert scheduled for January 2025 at D.Y. Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai.
The Times of India has reached out to the law firm for a confirmation on the same. We’ll update the story once we get a response.
What the complaint says
The complaint alleges that the online ticketing platforms followed “unethical practices that deliberately obstructed genuine fans from purchasing tickets during the official sale scheduled to commence at 12 pm, September 22, 2024.”
The firm alleged that BookMyShow “amended its platform to stop legitimate purchasers from purchasing by timely logging them out of the system or preventing them from accessing the site, enabling ticket bots and black-market operatives to secure tickets.”
Vyas seeks registration of a FIR against BookMyShow, Live Nation Entertainment, and the individuals responsible for the alleged offences under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, including but not limited to:
• Section 111(2) – Organised Crime
• Section 318(4) – Cheating
Section 316(2) – Criminal Breach of Trust
• Section 61(2) – Criminal Conspiracy