Kochi: The High Court has rejected a petition filed by the company against the banning of the Media One TV channel. The verdict was handed down by Justice Nagaresh. The High Court accepted the affidavit of the Central Government stating that the Home Ministry had not renewed the channel license based on reports received from intelligence agencies. With this, the channel lost its operating license.
All the files of the Home Ministry related to the ban were submitted to the Central Government’s Asst. Solicitor General S. Manu was handed over to the court. The Assistant Solicitor General argued that the findings of the Home Ministry were not against the channel but against the company that runs it. The Solicitor General argued that freedom of the press was not a bargaining chip and could be restricted for security reasons.
This does not mean that the matter can not be reconsidered once it has been sanctioned by the Home Ministry. Applications for transmission permits are approved by the Home Ministry for ten years.
Ten years later, the consul told the central government that the conditions for renewing a permit and issuing a new license were the same.
