HC seeks detailed govt order on Care World India's week-long ban

HC seeks detailed govt order on Care World India's week-long ban

Ajit Gupta

NEW DELHI: The Bombay High Court today said the Information and Broadcasting Ministry's order imposing a one-week ban against Care World India TV is not a ‘speaking order’ as it does not give details of the violations by the channel.

In view of this, Justice M S Karnik said that the Ministry should withdraw the show cause notice to the channel and issue a fresh order detailing violations. It gave time to the counsel for the Government to get instructions and inform the court by 30 November 2016.

Earlier, the court had extended the stay on the ministry order last week, after the TV channel informed the court that it wanted to amend its petition. The channel was required to satisfy the Court by today as to what amendments it wants to make.

Seven Star Satellite Pvt Ltd counsel Mayur Khandeparkar told the court in the last hearing on 8 November that a show-cause had been issued to the channel which had also been given a hearing by the Inter-Ministerial Committee, but the final order indicated that none of the arguments given by the channel had been taken into consideration and “therefore it is not a reasoned order”.

The ban had been put on the channel Care World from the midnight of 9 November to midnight of 16 November 2016.

Khandeparkar also said that the programme ‘Kya Karun main ab’ against which the ministerial order had come had already been taken off air and subsequent episodes would only come subject to the final order of the Court. 

The judge also said in his order that the channel would not be permitted broadcast of this programme till its interim order was vacated.

Also read:   Stay on Care World TV ban extended till 28 November