The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : High Court reserves order on Raj TV plea

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 14, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

High Court reserves order on Raj TV plea

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, OCT. 13. The Madras High Court today reserved its orders on a writ petition filed by Raj Television Network Limited challenging a Central Government order terminating its licence to uplink its channels from its own teleport. The August 25 order of the Union Ministry of Telecommunications was stayed by the court on August 27.

Today, Justice K. Raviraja Pandian reserved his orders after hearing Nalini Chidambaram, counsel for the private television network, and V.T. Gopalan, Additional Solicitor-General of India.

When the matter came up for hearing, Mrs. Chidambaram said the impugned order had been issued without jurisdiction as, according to her, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting alone had powers to revoke an existing licence. The network was not given any opportunity to explain its stand and no personal hearing was afforded, she said. Stating that the punishment imposed on the network was ``disproportionate'' to the deviation, she wanted the stay made absolute.

The telecast of two channels, Vissa and Raj Music, which were uplinked awaiting due permission, was stopped as soon as a show-cause notice was received, Mrs. Chidambaram said. She also argued that the question of revoking the licence for existing channels did not arise.

In his submissions, Mr. Gopalan said the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu, inaugurated the two channels and they were telecasting programmes like regular channels for nearly a year without any licence from the Ministries of Information and Broadcasting, and Telecommunications. Pointing to the ``categorical admission'' that the channels were telecast without licence, he said it amounted to violation of licence conditions of Raj TV and Raj Digital Plus.

Though the licence expired in September 2003, the channel sent demand draft towards licence fee only after 10 months, that too after the Ministry had issued the show-cause notice dated July 7, 2004, Mr. Gopalan said. As per the licence conditions renewal request should have been made, along with the requisite fee, at least one month prior to the expiry. By granting the stay order, the court had ``virtually granted licence,'' he said.

When Mr. Justice Raviraja Pandian asked Mr. Gopalan what was the remedy available for the network, the latter said the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India was competent to consider such issues.

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