Supreme Court lifts telecast ban on MediaOne
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday lifted the telecast ban imposed by the Union Government on Malayalam news channel MediaOne.
The verdict was delivered by a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli.
The order came after the channel filed a special leave petition calling into question the Kerala High Court's judgment that upheld the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s decision not to renew the broadcast license of the channel.
The ban was reportedly imposed for not getting security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The court directed the Ministry to renew license to the channel within four weeks.
The bench said ‘There is no explanation on what weighed with the High Court in holding the decision is valid’, as reported by the Live Law.
While praising the role of media freedom in democracy, the court said the non-disclosure of the reason for the ban cannot be justified.
Pronouncing the judgment, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud observed that non-disclosure of the reason on the grounds of national security is unacceptable.
After completing the trial on November 3, 2022, the case came before the two-judge bench for delivering the verdict.
The court reportedly said that the disclosure of the reason only to the Court in a sealed cover has violated the principles of natural justice and the right to fair proceedings, leaving the company "in the dark to fight out", according to a report by Live Law.