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Home Cable says I&B is ignoring court order on licence issue

Indiantelevision.com Team

(29 October 2012 5:25 pm)

NEW DELHI: Multi-system operator Home Cable has written to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry protesting its ignoring a Delhi High Court order for reconsidering the cancellation of his digital access system licence within three days.

Vikki Choudhary, founder Director of Home Cable Network (P) Limited, said in a letter to the Ministry that he had furnished the documents on 18 October itself by e-mail as directed by the Court and also sent copies by speed post on 22 October.

He said that more than a week had passed since then but there had been no response despite the court’s directive about three days. He pointed out that "we are being kept in the dark" despite the fact that the sunset date was fast approaching.

The order by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Vipin Sanghi said the order is subject to Home Cable filing all DAS related information sought by the Ministry.

The Court also permitted the MSO to negotiate and enter into the DAS Interconnect Agreements with the Pay TV broadcasters/ Channel aggregators.

The registration of Home Cable and Swami Cable Network had been revoked by the Ministry on 28 August on the ground that they had failed to submit necessary documents.

Both the MSOs were registered with the Ministry and had been asked to furnish information regarding preparations for implementation of DAS and their plans for infrastructure expansion as mandated in the DAS regime.

Senior advocate Aman Lekhi and Gaurang Kanth, counsel for Home Cable, argued that there was no ground available with the MIB to take such a punitive action against the MSO, which already had already installed DAS and had been running it since 2007 and catering to more than 11,000 digital subscribers since Conditional Access System (Cas) was introduced in South Delhi with a capacity to carry 650 digital TV channels.