A division bench of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday, March 2, upheld the single-judge order on the ban on Malayalam news channel MediaOne TV. A bench of Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Chaly dismissed the news channel’s appeal against the Union government’s decision to stop its telecast by not renewing its licence. In addition to the channel, appeals were also filed in court by some of its employees, including its editor, as well the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ), whose pleas against the Union government's decision had also been rejected by the single judge on February 8.
MediaOne is a popular news channel in Kerala and is well known for their journalism and talk shows. The channel is owned by Madhyamam Broadcasting Limited; many of the investors are members of the Kerala chapter of Jamaat-e-Islami. Malayalam channel MediaOne TV had gone off air on January 31, after its licence was not renewed based on an order by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B).
Madhyamam Broadcasting Ltd, which operates MediaOne, had filed an appeal before a division bench after a single judge bench upheld the Union government’s ban. In its appeal, the channel said that it has been victimised for fair and genuine news reporting. It had contended that the reason cited by the Union government to justify the ban — of threat to national security — was only a "ruse" and "without any basis." It had also argued that no fresh security clearance was required under the relevant provisions of the uplinking and downlinking guidelines for renewal of license.
Earlier, senior advocate Jaju Babu, who represented the channel's editor, other employees and the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ), had argued before the court that the ban on the channel was imposed without hearing it first as is required under the relevant rules. Babu had also contended before the bench that the freedom of press, freedom of speech and expression and the right to livelihood, provided under the Constitution, have been violated by the Union government's decision of January 31.
The Union government, on the other hand, had argued that where national security was concerned, reasons for denial of security clearance need not be provided and principles of natural justice — like giving a hearing, do not apply.
It had also told the bench that as per the uplinking and downlinking guidelines, security clearance was mandatory even for renewal of license. The single judge had said the denial of security clearance to MediaOne by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) was "justified" based on the inputs received from intelligence agencies.
The single judge came to that conclusion after perusing the files produced by MHA. The court had also said that according to the downlinking guidelines, even at the time of considering the renewal of permission, security clearance was mandatory.
This was not the first time the channel has faced such a bar on its operation.
MediaOne, along with another Malayalam News channel, Asianet, was briefly suspended for 48 hours over their coverage of communal violence in Delhi in 2020, with the official orders saying they covered the violence in a manner that "highlighted the attack on places of worship and siding towards a particular community."
With PTI inputs