News network NDTV has approached the Supreme Court against a controversial central government notice ordering its Hindi channel, NDTV India, off the air for a day, one of the group’s top directors tweeted on Monday.
“#NDTVBanned - @NDTV moves Supreme Court against Wednesday ban on @ndtvindia,” tweeted Suparna Singh, director of strategy at NDTV and managing editor of NDTV.com.
NDTV India was asked to go off the air on November 9 after the government said the channel revealed sensitive details during its coverage of a militant attack on the Pathankot airbase in January.
{{/usCountry}}NDTV India was asked to go off the air on November 9 after the government said the channel revealed sensitive details during its coverage of a militant attack on the Pathankot airbase in January.
{{/usCountry}}This crucial information could have been readily picked up by the militants’ handlers and jeopardised national security, the information and broadcasting ministry said.
Read | Why was NDTV India banned and what does the law say?
This was the first time a channel was asked to stop broadcasting over concerns about national security.
But the order has been widely panned with activists, journalists and opposition politicians accusing the BJP-led government of singling out NDTV and muzzling free speech. Many of them have also dubbed the order a return of the “Emergency-era” curbs on the press .
But the government has defended the action, saying many other channels were banned in the past and that free speech couldn’t be absolute or override national security.
Read | NDTV India ban: There’s a rise in number of cases where media is the target