Top

Centre challenges relief for Marans in Madras HC over MSO licence

Kal Cables was given provisional licence in 2006

Chennai: The Centre has filed an appeal before the Madras high court challenging an order of a single judge, which set aside its order cancelling the Multi-System Operator (MSO) licence to Maran family-run Kal Cables Pvt Ltd.
A division bench comprising Justices Satish K. Agnihotri and M. Venugopal before whom the appeal by Union ministries of information and broadcasting and home affairs, came up for hearing, ordered notice to Kal Cables Pvt. Ltd, returnable by July 1.
Originally, Kal Cables was given provisional licence in 2006 subject to the condition that it should get security clearance from the government. However, the matter was pending for over seven years. While so, on August 20, 2014, the ministry of information and broadcasting ordered cancellation of Kal Cables license and gave it 15 days to cut its signal.
The home ministry said in view of denial of security clearance by the ministry of information and broadcasting, regular registration cannot be granted to Kal Cables.
Against this order, Kal Cables filed a petition and a single judge had on September 5, 2014, set aside the Centre's order cancelling the license and said Kal Cables should be given chance to reply and the ministry could take action only if it was not satisfied with the reply. Challenging this order, the Union government filed the present appeal.
In its appeal, the Union government said the single judge ought to have seen that the approval for Kal Cables was given for cable television network services on the condition that the company should obtain security clearance from the Union Government.
As the security clearance was rejected by the government, in the circumstances the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had no other option, except to cancel the license of Kal Cables for MSO.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
Next Story