SC decides to wait till Dec 5 as govt reviews NDTV India telecast ban

November 08, 2016 02:53 pm | Updated 02:53 pm IST - NEW DELHI

The ball is now in the government's court as the Supreme Court on Tuesday refrained from hearing NDTV's petition against a one-day telecast ban on November 9, now put on hold.

"What is there now? We have read in the newspapers that the ban is already put on hold," Justice A.K. Sikri, the lead judge in the Bench also comprising Justice N.V. Ramana, remarked.

Both NDTV counsel and senior advocate Fali Nariman and Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi confirmed the position to the Bench.

The court did not issue notice or indulge further in the case, which had come up for hearing as a mentioning matter.

The channel had filed the petition in the Supreme Court on Monday morning while the ban order was still in place. By evening, the government had made it known the ban was "on hold".

Mr. Rohatgi indicated to the court that certain channel representatives had met the minister concerned.

The court posted the matter for December 5.

Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday had put the ban order on hold and gave NDTV India a chance to present its case once more before an inter-ministerial committee.

The ban was imposed for allegedly broadcasting sensitive details of January’s terror attack on the Air Force base in Pathankot.

The decision of the inter-ministerial committee to impose the one-day ban on the channel, starting at midnight on November 9, provoked widespread criticism both within and outside the country. Reporters without Borders called on the authorities to stop using national security as a pretext for silencing the media.

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