Malayalam channel MediaOne TV set to appeal in SC after Kerala HC refused to overturn TV ban

MediaOne TV had requested the renewal of broadcast licenses from September 30, 2021 to September 29, 2031. In response to this, the Ministry of I&B said that the Ministry of Home Affairs had denied security clearance to Madhyamam Broadcasting Limited , owner of the channel. The reason for the denial of the security clearance was not mentioned in the order of the Ministry of I&B.

Following the Home Office’s denial of security clearance, a show cause notice was served on the company explaining why the clearance granted to it should not be revoked or canceled for the uplink or downlink chain.

The company, in response to the show cause notice, mentioned that it was not aware of the reasons for the denial of the security clearance and asked the authorities not to initiate proceedings in this matter.

In March 2020, I&B Minstry decided to ban the MediaOne channel and Asianet for 48 hours for their “biased” coverage of the Delhi riots, saying their reporting was “in favor of a particular community”.

The order passed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said the two news channels had violated the Cable Television Network Rules of 1994, which state, among other things, “No program should be broadcast in cable service that attacks religions or communities or demeaning visuals or words of religious groups or that promote communal attitudes.”