Kerala HC Upholds Central Govt's Ban On Malayalam News Channel

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday (February 8) upheld the Centre's decision barring the telecast of Malayalam news channel MediaOne. Justice N Nagaresh rejected the petition by Madhyamam Broadcasting Limited, which operates the Malayalam television channel MediaOne TV. The petition upheld the government's decision to revoke the channel's license. On January 31, the network went off the air after the Centre halted broadcasting because of security concerns. According to reports, the channel is supported by members of Jamaat-e-Islami in Kerala. In 2019, the Centre declared Jamaat-e-Islami an "unlawful association" for five years of activities "prejudicial to internal security and public order".

Court's Judgement

According to Justice N Nagaresh, the security clearance should not be renewed based on those inputs. The court ruled that the decision of the Ministry of Home Affairs to deny security clearance was determined based on intelligence input from several agencies. On Monday (February 7), the Centre argued that a security clearance could never be renewed once it has been granted, reported NDTV. Previously, the Central Government specified that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) was dismissed the security clearance to the MediaOne TV over national security reasons.

Background

On February 2, the Kerala High Court had asked the Centre to explain why it had revoked the permission to broadcast the news channel's programs. The court extended the interim order until February, deferring the Centre's decision to suspend the channel's license. In addition, the judge had requested files from the home ministry that recommended cancelling the security clearance of the channel.

Channel's Reaction

In contrast, the channel argued that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) clearance was only required when new permission or license was applied for and not when it was renewed. Furthermore, according to the uplinking and downlinking guidelines, it claimed that security clearance should only be required during the application process for a fresh license and not during the renewal process. However, it wasn't the first time the MediaOne channel encountered such a problem.

In 2020, MediaOne and Malayalam News Channel Asianet were briefly suspended for 48 hours over their coverage of communal violence in North-East Delhi. According to official orders, they covered the violence in a way that "highlighted attacks on places of worship and sided with one community."

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