New Delhi: The Supreme Court is expected to hear on 25 April a petition by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation seeking to ensure that digitisation is implemented as scheduled and without hindrance.

The case had been listed for today, but could not be heard because of pending business. The Court is closed tomorrow because of Mahavir Jayanti.

When the special leave petition had been mentioned before the Court on 16 April, it had declined the prayer for a stay on any of the proceedings in the various High Courts, as it was informed that the Karnataka High Court judgment on the subject was due. The bench presided over by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir therefore felt it would await the judgment of the High Court before taking up the matter.

The Karnataka and Gujarat High Courts have since dismissed as having no merit to the petitions seeking extension of the switch-off dates for Phase II of digitisation in Bengaluru, Mysore, Ahmadabad, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara.

Petitions challenging digitisation are currently pending in the Madras, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh High Courts. These will affect the cities of Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam Bhopal, Indore, and Jabalpur.