ITV

Tag: Harish Salve

  • Republic TV set to sue Mumbai police commissioner for defamation

    Republic TV set to sue Mumbai police commissioner for defamation

    NEW DELHI: Accusations have flown thick and fast between the Mumbai police and its commissioner Param Bir Singh and the Republic Media Network over the past few months. The rancour between the two parties only intensified after the former accused the latter of rigging its viewership ratings by compromising the BARC sample and paying off viewers to watch the network.

    Now, Republic TV founder and editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami has directed his legal team Phoenix Legal to initiate a suit against Singh seeking Rs 200 crore in damages. Rs 100 crore of this amount is for damaging the newsman’s reputation, while the other Rs 100 crore is for harming the network’s credibility.

    Republic says its legal teams are in the process of filing the defamation suit against the police commissioner. The company decided to take this step following the revelation that the FIR related to TRP manipulation does not include the name of Arnab Goswami and Republic Media.

    In the Bombay High Court hearing today, the two-man bench of justices SS Shinde and MS Karnik noted that Republic TV has not yet been arraigned as an accused in the FIR filed by the Mumbai police.

    Arguing on behalf of the Maharashtra government and the Mumbai police, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said, "There is no mention of Republic TV in the FIR. So how can it be quashed? The FIR relates to an offence allegedly committed in relation to which several improprieties and illegalities by several may be found. That investigation is still in the nascent stage."

    He further mentioned that the press conference held by the Mumbai police commissioner exposing the TRP gaming racket did not refer to Goswami in particular, and that only Republic TV was mentioned.

    Harish Salve, arguing on behalf of Republic Media, assured that in case summons are issued to Arnab Goswami, the petitioner would cooperate with the authorities. He also urged the court to stay the investigation and restrain police from taking any coercive action against the petitioners pending hearing of their petition.

    Salve sought the court to grant Goswami protection from arrest. But Sibal rebutted, stating that no such relief can be granted in the matter since Goswami has not been arraigned as an accused as of now.

    The Republic team also stated that it is filing a contempt petition against the special executive magistrate and assistant police commissioner Sudhir Jambwadekar, on account of the fact that he initiated chapter proceedings with respect to FIRs that have been suspended by the orders of the Bombay high court.

    On 8 October, Singh addressed a press conference where he claimed that the police had busted a TRP manipulation scam that involved various channels including Republic TV.

    Republic has consistently maintained that it has done nothing of that sort and that Singh has it in for the channel on account of its founder and editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami airing “exposés” of the commissioner’s alleged laxity in performing his law-keeping duties.

  • NTO 2.0 update: Broadcasters conclude their argument before Bombay HC

    NTO 2.0 update: Broadcasters conclude their argument before Bombay HC

    KOLKATA:  As the ongoing legal battle between broadcasters and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) in Bombay High Court nears its ending, the broadcasters have concluded their argument.

    On 18 September, the solicitor general will open for TRAI before the court. TRAI chairman R S Sharma said earlier that non-implementation of NTO 2.0 will bring back discriminatory practices and create a regulatory vacuum. He said that the tariff order has brought the perfect balance between consumer choice and industry benefits.  

    Sharma mentioned that while it has given new power to the consumers to watch channels of their own choice, it has provided broadcasters the liberty to decide the pricing of their channels, distributors to have an independent source of revenue through network capacity fees.

    Earlier during a hearing on 2 September, senior advocate Harish Salve argued that NTO 2.0 contradicts provisions of the Indian constitution that guarantees the freedom of speech and expression to all citizens.

    Amid Covid2019 pandemic, TRAI directed the broadcasters on 24 July to comply with the new amendments by 10 August, which created another round of tension and the broadcasters went back to Bombay High Court. The High Court ordered TRAI to not take any coercive action against the stakeholders until the verdict comes out.

  • NDTV won’t apologise for Pathankot coverage

    MUMBAI: New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) has told the Supreme Court that it will not tender an apology for its coverage of the Pathankot airbase terror attack on 2 January 2016.

    Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for NDTV, informed a bench of justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan who briefly heard the matter that the channel will not tender an apology for its coverage.

    Law officer solicitor-general Ranjit Kumar said that, since NDTV had refused to furnishing a letter of apology, there was no other option but to hear the matter on merit. The case will be heard after three weeks.

    The government had imposed a one-day blackout order against NDTV India (since held in abeyance) which will be reversed after it offers an apology.

    On 3 November, 2016, the ministry of information & broadcasting (I&B) asked NDTV India to go off-air for a day on 9 November for revealing sensitive details on the Pathankot attack.

    NDTV then moved the apex court challenging the constitutional validity of the order and the provisions of law pursuant to which the said order has purportedly been passed.

    Also Read:

    NDTV India ban reversal: Centre wants apology, counsel seeks time from SC

    Govt hands NDTV India 24-hr ban for breach of content code

    NDTV ban: SC to hear appeal today

  • NDTV India ban reversal: Centre wants apology, counsel seeks time from SC

    MUMBAI: The Central Government on Friday told the Supreme Court that the one-day blackout order against New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) India will be reversed only when the channel offers an apology for its coverage of the Pathankot militant attack on 2 January last year.

    Appearing for NDTV India, senior advocate Harish Salve sought a week’s time to inform the court if the NDTV India would tender an apology.

    Earlier, India’s highest court had, on November 6, deferred the hearing in the case to 5 December, citing reason of no urgency for its hearing. Information and broadcasting ministry had asked NDTV India to go off-air on 9 November after the government accused it of airing sensitive information related to the terror attack.

    NDTV had, however, refuted the allegations stating that other channels had also reported the same. Information and broadcasting minister M. Venkaiah Naidu however supported the ban, stating that it was in the interest of India’s security.

    Major media organisations and journalists condemned the ban and protested against it, comparing it with the emergency when the right of the freedom of press was violated.

    NDTV India channel telecast a report on the Pathankot attack disclosing sensitive information well beyond the briefing given by the designated officer while the anti-terrorist operations were still under way. The content was found in violation of Rule 6(1)(p) of the Programme Code. The matter was placed before the IMC on 25 July, 2016, in which representative of the channel was also afforded an opportunity of a personal hearing. It was recommended that the channel may be taken off air for at least one day keeping in view the gravity of the violation and an order issued on 2 November 2016.

  • SC to hear Mouthshut.com’s plea challenging IT Rules 2011

    SC to hear Mouthshut.com’s plea challenging IT Rules 2011

    NEW DELHI: Come 13 January and the writ petition filed by Mouthshut.com, challenging the Information Technology Rules 2011 will be up for hearing in the Supreme Court.  

     

    The plea seeks to declare the IT Rules as violation of Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution of India which guarantee freedom of expression. Mouthshut.com will be represented by senior counsel Harish Salve.

     

    Mouthshut.com, which is an online community for consumer reviews has asked the Court to rescind India’s Information Technology Rules 2011 that jeopardises the freedom of expression. The appeal declares the IT Rules to be offensive under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India. “We are pleading with the highest court in the land to protect the rights of Indian citizens and consumers that are granted by the Constitution of India,” said MouthShut.com founder and CEO Faisal Farooqui.

     

    The portal has stuck to its own policy of taking down content only under legal coercion. But the IT rules state that ‘any affected person’ can simply send an email to request the removal of any content within 36 hours or they can lose their ‘safe harbour’ protection as an ‘intermediary, pay damages, legal fee and court time’. Web-based organisations need to have a difference between free expression and making feasible services.

     

    Farooqui further added, “We have been threatened with hundreds of legal notices, cybercrime complaints and defamation cases. At other times, officers from various police stations call our office, demanding deletion of various reviews or face dire consequences under the IT rules.”

     

    Farooqui said, “It is a privilege to be a citizen of a democracy like India, where an ordinary citizen can appeal to a powerful court. Laws are meant to ensure the well-being of the nation – its people and institutions. Despite good intentions, IT Rules fall short of doing that. This law has the potential to weaken or, worse, entirely corrode the robust protection that the constitution of India offers to the freedom of speech.”

  • News broadcasters look to finalise content code before month-end

    NEW DELHI: With growing pressure following the infamous Uma Khurana sting operation, broadcasters are working towards finalising their Content Code before the end of this month, and the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has convened a meeting early next week to discuss the issue.

    The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has already indicated to the information and broadcasting ministry that it will finalise its Code by the end of January. 

    The ministry is itself under a direction from the Delhi High Court to give its views on the status of an attempt to bring in a regulation. In a decision given last month, the High Court, while responding to a set of PILs, had asked the ministry to come with its response within ten weeks.

    Accordingly, the ministry has called a meeting of stakeholders in the second half of this month to take their inputs, an official said.

    According to an IBF official, a preliminary draft is ready but will be subjected to threadbare discussion at the Mumbai meeting following which a final version may be drafted to be submitted to the ministry.

    NBA claims it has already formulated its own code and a grievance redressal mechanism and handed over the draft to senior advocate and former solicitor general of India Harish Salve, who is helping the association in the preparation of the code. ”Since, we deal with the news and current affairs, our issues are very different. The IBF is drafting a code relating to entertainment programmes which would require different parameters,” an NBA official said.

    The Editors Guild is also working on a model code and a self-regulation mechanism.

    The government had prepared a Content Code with the help of various stakeholders and even placed it on the Ministry’s website mib.nic.in for comments and fixed a final date of 5 August, 2007 for this purpose, but met with stiff resistance. 

    The fake sting operation resulted in the Courts intervening and the ministry stepping up pressure for some regulation in the broadcasting sector, even as the Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill remains in cold storage.

  • Delhi HC fallout: NBA chastises motivated stings

    Delhi HC fallout: NBA chastises motivated stings

    NEW DELHI: For the first time since its inception, the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) have officially criticised motivated sting operations on TV news channels, saying that the Delhi High Court’s suggestion that an I&B ministry committee clear all stings before going on air is a matter of grave concern.

    In a press note, NBA president G Krishnan said, “We condemn motivated reporting that attempts to fabricate news to gain popularity at the cost of journalistic integrity.”

    Krishnan also added that such acts risk discrediting television news and indeed the news media as a whole.

    “But this does not mean that sting operations are wrong in principle. The NBA believes that sting operations are a legitimate journalistic tool and means of investigation, but like all powerful tools they have to be used with care and responsibility,” he emphasised.

    It may be recalled that on 30 August, the TV news channel India Live had shown a ‘sting’ that purportedly ‘caught’ Uma Khurana, a school teacher, using her students for flesh trade.

    While the so-called news exposé caused rioting in Delhi’s congested Dariya Ganj area, within two days the operation had been found to be fake, the reporter arrested and a while later, Khurana was cleared by the police.

    Dismissing the case two days ago, the Delhi HC chastised sensational reporting and suggested that the concerned ministry set up a committee to subject all stings to scrutiny and give them clearance, which the journalistic circle has been alarmed about.

    If the ministry were to take up the court’s suggestion at all, there would be clear chances of censorship, the media has felt widely.

    “We have noted with concern the suggestion of the Delhi High Court that the I&B Ministry set up a committee to vet sting operations and issue no-objection certificates on being satisfied that they serve the public interest, before the stories are telecast,” a press statement from NBA said.

    Krishnan said, “We are all aware that events of the recent past have called sting operations to question on grounds of authenticity, but stray incidents do not warrant such interference, which is totally against the tenets of democracy, free speech and the freedom of the press.”

    The NBA feels that the suggestion that a telecast of news receive prior permission of the Government would constitute censorship of news and would, for that reason, constitute “content control” and thereby an unacceptable restraint on the right of free speech.

    “As much as stray incidents of irresponsible reporting cannot constitute a basis for imposing censorship upon the print media, such incidents of abuse of ethics cannot constitute a basis of imposing censorship upon the electronic media,” said the statement.

    The NBA is in the process of formulating a code of self-regulation for news and current affairs channels. Senior advocate and former Solicitor General of India Harish Salve is helping the NBA in finalising the self-regulation guidelines and grievance redressal mechanism.

    Krishnan said, “The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has been encouraging our endeavour towards self-regulation. We trust the government will view the present suggestion in the same supportive spirit and resist attempts and suggestions to interfere with the press.”

  • SC stays Assam order cancelling NE TV accreditation for National Games

    SC stays Assam order cancelling NE TV accreditation for National Games

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today stayed the order of the Assam Government cancelling the accreditation cards of North-East Television, thereby preventing it from covering the 33rd National Games starting today in Guwahati.

    A bench comprising Justices KG Balakrishnan and PK Jain stayed the operation of the impugned order dated 6 February, thereby permitting the petitioner television channel to cover the National Games, inaugurated by Congress President Sonia Gandhi this afternoon.

    Senior Counsel Harish Salve, appearing for the petitioner, alleged the order has been passed as the channel has exposed the killing of innocent persons by militant organisations like the United Liberation Front of Assom and others in various places of the North-East and said the state government’s action amounted to violation of freedom of speech.

    The television network, which telecasts in eight languages spoken in all the states of the Northeast, said the NE TV has always highlighted issues related to national security and sovereignty.