The Madras High Court Bench here on Monday imposed a cost of Rs.10,000 on the Chairman of Tamil Nadu Cable TV Corporation (TACTV) for seeking adjournments repeatedly and delaying the hearing of two public interest litigation petitions filed against arbitrary selection of cable operators to act as District level and Taluk level Head Ends (control rooms).
A Division Bench of Justices S. Nagamuthu and M.V. Muralidaran ordered that the cost must be paid to the Chief Justice’s Relief Fund. Later, they adjourned the hearing on the two PIL petitions to Wednesdayto enable TACTV to engage either the Advocate General or Additional Advocate General to defend the corporation in the two cases that had been clubbed together.
The judges expressed their strong disapproval for corporation seeking adjournment till Friday for engaging the Advocate General despite having taken time till Monday on November 14 to explain the methodology adopted by it to appoint select cable operators as Head Ends and pay Rs.10,500 to each of them towards monthly maintenance charges.
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The petitioners before the court had sought for a direction to the Chairman of TACTV to desist from appointing District level and Taluk level control room operators without conducting a public auction as required under the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act, 1998 and the rules framed thereunder.