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NEW
DELHI: Even as the Government admitted under the Right to
Information Act to issuing a total of 206 notices to different
television channels for telecast of objectionable material
between October 2004 and March 2007, information placed on
the site of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry as on
21 January this year lists only 65 cases.
This
figure also contrasts glaringly with Minister Priyaranjan
Dasmunsi’s statement to Parliament in March last year
that a total of 166 notices were issued during 2006-07 for
violation of the Programme and Advertising Codes at the instance
of an Inter-ministerial Committee set up under Section 20
of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995.
The
information given to a journalist under the Right to Information
Act in May last year had revealed that there had been very
few cases where permission for uplinking was withdrawn or
the channels were banned, and the matters have been closed
in most cases after issuance of warning, receiving apologies,
or after they were directed to run scrolls to the effect that
they had been warned by the Ministry.
The list on the PIB website contains only 15 cases (two related
to the same programme on the same channel) relating to the
calendar year 2007 and none relating to January 2008. However,
all channels had recently been asked to withdraw an advertisement
that indirectly highlighted the burden caused by a girl child.
Of the cases in 2007, the most glaring case is the one relating
to the banning of ‘Janmat’ TV (now Live India )
channel for telecast of a false sting operation on school
teacher Uma Khurana from the midnight of 20 September which
was revoked from midnight of 12 October.
Two relate to the advertisements of the India-West Indies
series where warnings were issued to Neo Sports and Star Plus
in April last. Four relate to the coverage relating to the
self-immolation by a person in Patiala. While advisories were
issued to the Headlines Today, Aaj Tak, and Zee News, a warning
was issued to Sahara Samay.
In a similar case of telecast of attempted suicide by mentally
challenged persons in Varanasi in mid-November last, IBN7
had been issued an advisory in December.
The CNN IBN was issued an advisory and then a warning in July
last for showing wrong map of India in a news item relating
to the Samjhouta Express Tragedy in March last year.
All channels had in July last been asked not to telecast advertisements
of ‘Lux Cozy Underwear’ and ‘Amul Macho Underwear’.
The IBN7 was asked in November to run an apology scroll for
three days for telecast earlier in the year of the programme
‘Kiss Par Rok Nahi’.
A similar punishment was meted out to Zee News for telecast
of the programme ‘Jumma Chumma De De’.
India TV was issued an advisory in December in relation to
a programme telecast in October titled ‘India Bole’.
There was only one instance of an advisory to a general entertainment
channel, when Star Plus was issued an advisory in July for
an episode in mid-March of the teleserial ‘Kyonki
Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’.
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