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Kerala high court stays I&B ministry bar on Malayalam news channel MediaOne
The channel which is owned by a group affiliated to Jamat-e-Islami went off air on Monday afternoon and its editor Pramod Raman later appeared on social media announcing the decision of the ministry to suspend its transmission.
The Kerala High Court on Monday stayed the order of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry which revoked the licence of Malayalam news channel ‘MediaOne’ citing security concerns.
The channel which is owned by a group affiliated to Jamat-e-Islami went off air on Monday afternoon and its editor Pramod Raman later appeared on social media announcing the decision of the ministry to suspend its transmission.
Hearing a petition moved by the Madhyamam Broadcasting Limited that owns the channel Justice N Nagaresh stayed the order of the ministry and said that there should not be an interruption to broadcasting.
Senior advocate S Sreekumar appearing for ‘MediaOne’ said initially the ministry said the channel’s licence was revoked on security grounds and later it said it had not applied for security clearance and the licence expired automatically. He also argued that the petitioner was not given a chance to explain its position and it violated principles of natural justice.
The court agreed to the contention of the counsel and stayed the order. The plea will be taken up on Wednesday. There was no official explanation from the I &B Ministry, but people who are aware of the development said the order to block the channel was issued because it had failed to get security clearance from the Home Ministry.
This is the second time ‘MediaOne’ has been barred. In March 2020, the Centre imposed a ban on the channel for 48 hours on charges of violating the Cable Television Networks Act 1998 while reporting on communal riots in north-east Delhi. But people who are aware of the development said security clearance was denied after the channel failed to renew its licence granted 10 years ago. According to the norms of the I&B ministry, uplinking and downlinking need to get security clearance from the Home Ministry, the official said.
Many journalists’ organisations and the opposition Congress have slammed the move. “It is an undemocratic move. The channel was also not given reasons for suspending transmission. This is a violation of natural justice. All democratic forces should condemn it,” said opposition leader V D Satheesan.
