Channels airing objectionable contents forced to go off-air for violation

New Delhi: Television channels airing objectionable contents have been forced to go off-air for 25 times for three to five days as a punitive action in the last three years, government said.

Around 600 private TV channels are monitored round-the- clock by the government-run Electronic Monitoring Centre to review their content in the context of violations of programme and advertising codes, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said in Lok Sabha.

In last three years, around 450 complaints have been received by the government against the channels for airing objectionable contents, out of which action have been taken on 300 complaints, he said during Question Hour.

As per the action, a number of channels were forced to go off-air for 25 times, he said adding the channel cannot air any content for three to five days during this period.

Rathore said an inter-ministerial committee was set up by the Ministry to look into specific complaints or take suo motu cognisance of the violations of programme and advertising codes, and added that appropriate action is taken as per Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995.

The Programme Codes provide, among other things, that no programme should be carried which offends against good taste or decency, contains anything obscene, defamatory, deliberate, false and suggestive innuendos and half truths and denigrades women through depiction in any manner.