NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Arbitration Tribunal (TDSAT) has imposed a penalty of Rs 25 lakh on Home Cable for violating its order of not to transmit signals Media Pro Enterprises, especially those relating to Star Sports, outside the National Capital Region (NCR) territory of Delhi.
After examining certain CDs and report submitted by the Broadcasting Engineering Consultants (India) Ltd, TDSAT chairman Aftab Alam and member Kuldip Singh also said it was recalling its earlier order of 20 December, 2013 and Media Pro would be free to disconnect its signals to Home Cable in accordance with law.
The Tribunal said it was a fit case to proceed against Home Cable for violation of the undertaking given by it before the tribunal and willful failure to comply with the order, this being a case of continuing contravention of the Tribunal order.
Home Cable had initially approached TDSAT aggrieved by the disconnection order by Media Pro of 9 December, 2013 issued under clause 6.1 of the DAS Regulations alleging Home Cable was illegally and unauthorisedly carrying the channels of the respondent in an unencrypted mode in the DAS notified areas of National Capital Territory of Delhi and in areas outside the NCT of Delhi by taking the feed from the DAS notified areas, which was in violation/ non-compliance of the terms of the MoU dated 23 October, 2012 entered between the parties.
The Tribunal had on 20 December, 2013 directed that in case Home Cable files an undertaking before the Tribunal that it will confine its operation strictly within the DAS notified areas of NCT of Delhi and shall do the transmission/ re-transmission in digital encrypted mode, Media Pro will not discontinue the supply of its channels to Home Cable network in pursuance of the impugned Notice. It was made clear in the order that any violation of the undertaking shall make the petition liable to dismissal.
It was alleged in the application by Media Pro that for the past one year or so, Home Cable had illegally been providing Media Pro’s content in brazen breach of the aforesaid undertaking. In this regard, Media Pro addressed letters in February this year to the District Collector, Gurgaon, and SSP, Gurgaon for the purpose of registration of FIRs. It was submitted on behalf of Media Pro that Home Cable was providing the content – Star Plus, Star Gold, Star Sports 4 and Star Sports 3 in Gurgaon through Sun Direct DTH boxes. The water marks clearly and conspicuously show Media Pro’s logo as well as that of Sun Direct on the screen.
The BECIL report conclusively established that the system does not comply with the security provisions mandated by the Regulations, the Tribunal said.
