Supreme Court stays ban on Malayalam news channel Media One

The Supreme Court today granted relief to the Malayalam TV channel 'MediaOne' by staying the Center's January 31 decision prohibiting the news channel from broadcasting due to 'security concerns.' The court has given the broadcaster permission to resume broadcasting until additional instructions are issued.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting last month declined to renew the Malayalam TV channel's broadcast licence, citing national security concerns without specifying them. Madhyamam Broadcasting Limited, which owns MediaOne TV, then filed an appeal in the Supreme Court, challenging the Kerala High Court's decision to uphold the Centre's decision.

Madhyamam Broadcasting Limited had filed to extend its broadcasting licences from September 30, 2021, to September 29, 2031.

On March 10, the Supreme Court issued a notice on the channel's petition, as well as a request that the Centre submit relevant data from the Home Ministry about security concerns.

Justices DY Chandrachud, Surya Kant, and Vikram Nath, in a three-judge bench, went over the files of the Home Ministry today.

The court observed that the files have not yet been shared with the petitioner (MediaOne), and that the subject of whether they should be given in order for the petitioner to defend themselves would be discussed at future sessions.

"We've been shut down for six weeks just because it's operated by persons from a minority group," MediaOne's Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave told the court. The Kerala chapter of Jamaat-e-Islami is backing the channel.

The Supreme Court has ordered the Centre to file a comprehensive counter-affidavit on the channel's appeals against the High Court ruling by March 26.

Dushyant Dave claimed at the last hearing on March 7 that the channel has been operational for 11 years.
He explained: "We employ 350 people and have millions of viewers. We were shut down because of some secret Home Ministry files, and the Kerala High Court justified it behind our backs."

It sparked concerns about the Right to Information (RTI) and media freedom, according to Dave.

"Certain issues related to the security of the State are cited to the effect that Madhyamam Broadcasting Limited has certain ties with certain undesirable forces, which is considered to be a security danger," the Kerala High Court noted in its judgement.

After the I&B Ministry alleged it breached rules of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994 during its coverage of the violence in Delhi relating to rallies against the Citizenship Amendment Act, MediaOne TV was pulled off the air in 2020.

The notification came after a Delhi-based journalist said that "vandals shot from a rooftop at an anti-CAA demonstration location from 2 pm to 9 pm, injuring roughly five anti-CAA demonstrators."

The ministry inspected a copy of the transmission, which slammed the government for its "cold-shouldered approach" to anti-CAA demonstrators and chastised Delhi Police for failing to file FIRs in response to a "provocative statement" by an unidentified BJP leader in Jafrabad, one of the places devastated by violence.