Supreme Court Lifts Central Govt's ban on Malayalam News Channel
The SC has given this decision regarding 'Media One' TV channel
NEW-DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday lifted the ban imposed by the central government on Malayalam news channel. The Center had banned the broadcast of Media One news channel citing national security. Rejecting this decision, the Supreme Court said that criticism of the policies and steps of the government cannot be called anti-national.
According to the information, the Supreme Court has given this decision regarding 'Media One' TV channel. The Supreme Court has asked the Malayalam channel to renew its license within four weeks and has also ordered the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting about the license.
It is worth mentioning here that Media One filed an application in the Supreme Court against the decision of the Kerala High Court. The Kerala High Court upheld the order of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting canceling the license citing security reasons. During the hearing, The bench led by CJI Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud said the license cannot be denied to the media organization.
The court said that the issue of national security has been raised carelessly. The Center has failed to produce any facts or evidence to justify the decision to impose the ban. The Supreme Court said that the new license should continue till the interim order.
Apart from this, he issued a major statement on the 'freedom of the press' and said that it is necessary to have a free press for the functioning of the society. The court said that no investigation report can be opposed in this matter. This is a matter related to the rights of the people. People cannot be deprived of their rights citing the security of the country.