in the supreme court of india civil original … · s. no. particulars page no. 1. further...

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION

WRIT PETITION [CIVIL] NO. 956 OF 2020

IN THE MATTER OF

Firoz Iqbal Khan …Petitioner

Versus

Union of India & anrs. ..Respondents

PRELIMINARY COUNTER AFFIDAVIT

ON BEHALF OF

THE UNION OF INDIA

[FOR INDEX PLEASE SEE INSIDE]

FILED BY:- G. S. MAKKER ADVOCATE FOR THE RESPONDENT UOI

INDEX

S. No. Particulars

Page No.

1. Further Affidavit Dated 19.09.2020 of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

1-17

2. ANNEXURE- R-1: Copy of Guidelines dated 26.04.2017 of the State/District level Monitoring Committees.

18-25

3. Annexure-R-2: Copy of DO dated 27.04.2017 of the State/District level Monitoring Committees.

26-29

4. Annexure-R-3: Copy of the proposed amendments to the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995.

30-59

5. Annexure- R-4: A copy of the said Uplinking and Downlinking Policy Guidelines issued by Ministry of information and Broadcasting.

60-73

6. Annexure R-5: A copy of the letter received from the NBF.

74-78

7. Annexure R-6: A detailed chart of the procedure with respect to the grievance redressal mechanism for Programme Code.

79

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION

WRIT PETITION [CIVIL] NO. 956 OF 2020

IN THE MATTER OF

Firoz Iqbal Khan …Petitioner

Versus

Union of India & Anrs. ..Respondents

FURTHER LIMITED AFFIDAVIT DATED 19.09.2020

OF THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING

I, Vijay Kaushik S/o Late O. P. Kaushik aged 55, having my

office at Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, A- wing Shastri

Bhavan, Dr Rajendra Prasad Marg, New Delhi-100001 do hereby

solemnly affirm and state as under :-

1. That I am working as Under-Secretary in the Ministry of

Information and Broadcasting and am well conversant with the

facts and circumstances of the case. I have been duly authorized to

swear the present affidavit.

2. I respectfully state and submit that the present affidavit is

being filed by the deponent to place on record the steps taken by

1

the respondent UOI it to comply with the directions passed by this

Hon'ble court in the case of Common Cause v. Union of India,

reported in (2018) 13 SCC 440 and to place other facts on record of

this Hon'ble Court.

I. STEPS TAKEN AFTER THE JUDGMENT IN COMMON CAUSE (SUPRA)

3. It is respectfully submitted that this Hon'ble court vide para

11 of the judgment delivered on 12.1.2017 in the case of Common

Cause Vs Union of India in WP(C) No.387 of 2000 [reported in

(2018) 13 SCC 440] directed UOI to formulate Rules under the

Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 for a complaint

redressed mechanism for TV and also a similar framework for the

Radio programmes and also directed to give wide publicity to the

same. The operative portion of the said judgment is quoted

hereinbelow for ready reference of this Hon'ble court:-

“11. Even though we have concluded in the manner recorded hereinabove, we are of the view, that the Central Government, having framed Rules in the nature of Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994, would be well advised, to frame similar Rules, in exercise of the power vested with it under Section 22 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, to formalise the complaint redressal mechanism, including the period of limitation within which a complaint can be filed, and the statutory authority concerned which shall adjudicate upon the

2

same, including the appellate and other redressal mechanisms, leading to a final conclusive determination. We, therefore, hereby recommend, that the Central Government, within the framework of Section 22 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, deliberate on the issue, and take a conscious decision thereon, and to finalise a similar statutory framework for radio programmes, as well. Till the above issue is considered and finalised, the existing mechanism of complaint redressal, shall remain in place.

4. It is respectfully submitted that in respectful compliance of

the aforesaid directions passed by this Hon'ble Court, the Ministry

of Information and Broadcasting vide its communication dated

26.4.2017 laid down detailed Guidelines for the framework of the

State/District level Monitoring Committees and the detailed

procedure for handling grievances thereof.

5. It is submitted that the aforesaid communication was

followed by letter dated 27.04.2017, whereby, the Ministry of

Information and Broadcasting communicated to all the State

Governments with regard to setting up of State and District level

Monitoring Committees for monitoring of the content telecast on

private satellite TV channels, as also the content aired in respect of

FM channels and Community Radio Stations (CRS) which would be

required to follow the AIR Broadcast Code in terms of the Grant of

3

Permission (GOP) signed by them with Ministry of Information and

Broadcasting. Copy of OM dated 26.04.2017 for the framework of

the State/District level Monitoring Committees is annexed and

marked as Annexure R-1. Copy of DO dated 27.04.2017 is

annexed and marked as Annexure-R-2.

6. Furthermore, it is pertinent to mention here that with regard

to formalization of rules under Section 22 of the Cable Television

Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, the matter was examined in the

Information & Broadcasting Ministry and it was considered that it

is necessary in the first instance to have specific provisions under

the Act itself for penal action for breach of the Programme Code

enumerated under the Rule 6 of the Cable Television Networks

Rules, 1994. The Ministry accordingly took up the exercise of

proposing certain amendments to the Cable Television Networks

(Regulation) Act, 1995. A proposal in this regard was prepared and

placed on public domain on 15.01.2020 for inviting objections and

suggestions from the various stakeholders. Copy of amendments to

the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 is annexed

and marked as Annexure-R-3.

4

II. EXISTING STRUCTURE FOR SELF REGULATION

7. It is humbly submitted that India has about 385 regular news

channels which are registered / licensed by the Central

Government under the Uplinking and Downlinking Policy

Guidelines. A copy of the said Uplinking and Downlinking Policy

Guidelines is annexed hereto and marked as Annexure- R-4.

8. It is submitted that these news channels would also include

channels showing news, as well as, other non-entertainment

programmes like Talk Shows etc. Respondent No. 5 i.e. Sudarshan

T.V. falls in this category.

9. It is respectfully stated that as against the aforesaid 385

registered / licensed news channels, there are 530 non news

channels like entertainment channels, sports channels, devotional

channels etc. which are also registered and licensed by the Central

Government under the Uplinking and Downlinking Policy

Guidelines.

10. It is also very relevant to note that News Broadcasters

Association [NBA] is not the sole Association having all

5

broadcasters as its members. NBA is a non-statutory voluntary

body and, therefore, its’ membership is also voluntary.

11. Simultaneously, there is yet another similar association called

News Broadcasters Federation [NBF] which is also a voluntary

organisation having several broadcasters including regional

channels as its members.

12. The aforesaid two associations namely NBA and NBF broadly

represent only regular news channels and not the other category of

broadcasters / channels referred hereinabove. Both these two

associations have their own self-regulatory mechanism which is not

only robust but can inspire confidence as both such self-regulatory

mechanism are headed by a former Hon'ble Judge of this Hon'ble

Court.

The NBA is already headed by Hon'ble Mr. Justice A.K. Sikri,

former Hon'ble Judge of this Hon'ble Court. While the NBF, which

is a recently formed organisation and which has put in place its

mechanism, has already intimated the Central Government that it

is in the process of and will soon appoint a former Hon'ble judge to

6

head this mechanism of self-regulation. A copy of the letter

received from the NBF is annexed herewith and marked as

Annexure R-5.

13. It would not be correct to stay that either NBA or NBF covers

all the broadcasters in the first category. Both NBA and NBF

covers their respective members and the membership being purely

voluntary, cannot be insisted upon by anyone including the Central

Government. Though forgetting the numerical strength of the

members, the two federations cover substantial portion of viewers

in the country. However, numerically 237 news broadcasters are

not members in either of the above referred two associations.

14. I state and submit that so far as the second category viz.

general entertainment channels namely having 530 members are

concerned, there is one major organisation called Indian

Broadcasting Foundation [IBF] having around 300 members. The

said IBF has set up a Broadcasting Content Complaints Council

[BCCC] as a self-regulatory mechanism to examine the complaints

relating to content being telecast in this category of broadcasters.

7

Justice Vikramjit Sen, former Hon'ble Judge of this Hon'ble Court

is Chairman of Broadcasting Content Complaints Council [BCCC].

15. Similarly, there is Advertising Standard of India which also

has a self-regulatory mechanism in the form of Consumer

Complaint Council [CCC] to consider the complaints in respect of

violation of advertisement code.

16. It is respectfully submitted that the self-regulatory

mechanism for redressal of complaints in case of all the aforesaid

organisations are, by and large, effective and ensures impartiality.

The membership of either of them, not being compulsory, does

require examination as no broadcaster can be compelled to become

a member of any of the voluntary organisations compulsorily. This

question is under examination of the Central Government as

regards the manner and procedure to ensure one statutory

umbrella mechanism redressal of grievances while completely

ensuring journalistic freedom, honouring and respecting the

freedom of speech and expression and ensuring a mechanism

which would ensure impartiality. This being an issue still under

8

active consideration, it is adviseable not to dwell much on this

issue.

III. THE EXISTING STRUCTURE OF THE RESPONDENT FOR

REDRESSING THE GRIEVANCE AGAINST THE BROADCASTERS:-

17. It is respectfully submitted that as and when complaints are

received in the Ministry with regard to violation of Programme and

Advertising Codes, the same are sent to the self-regulating bodies

for addressing the grievances. However, in respect of TV channels

which are not members of the self-regulating bodies, the matter is

taken up directly by the Ministry.

18. The Ministry also has institutional mechanism of an Inter-

Ministerial Committee (IMC) which looks at complaints either suo-

motto or when brought before it. This IMC gives its

recommendation to the Ministry for taking action in case found to

have violated the Programme Code and Advertisement Code. A

detailed chart of the procedure with respect to the grievance

redressal mechanism for Programme Code is annexed hereto and

marked as Annexure R-6.

9

19. It is respectfully submitted that as already pointed out in the

Affidavit in reply filed earlier, the regulation of electronic and print

media is substantially occupied by either legislative field or judicial

pronouncements. By and large the dividing line - what is freedom of

expression and what is not - is also capable of being culled out

through various judicial pronouncements. The term “hate speech”

by its very nature is incapable of being precisely defined except by

considering each case depending upon the facts arising therefrom.

It is, therefore, respectfully submitted and reiterated that this

Hon'ble Court may not widen the scope of present petition by laying

down any wider guidelines of general application and may leave the

same to the competent legislature to provide the same. It is only

because of several statutory and other self-regulatory mechanism

in place that such instances rarely occur in our country.

This reiterated submission is more particularly so because

the petition itself if confined to the following prayers-

“a. To issue suitable writ or any other writ/order of direction to the Respondent No.1 & 2 to issue necessary instructions/guidelines to restrain the Media channels both print and electronic as well as social media networks as well as Respondent No.5 from broadcasting or reporting any news relating to

10

religion or which has any angle communal disharmony or the contents of the video as in ANNEXURE P1 013 or the scheduled programmed Bindas Bol to be aired on 28th August 2020 at 8.00 pm on Sudarshan News Channel.

b. To restrain the Respondent No. 5 from broadcasting

any show or airing any news which is offensive/defamatory under the Indian Penal 1860 or the Information Technology Act 2000 relating to any community, religion or any class of society which disturbs the peace and the law and order including public order;

c. To set up an enquiry in the matter of the programme

referred to in the ANNEXURE P1 as the Hon’ble Court deems fit against the Respondent No. 5 for its hatred towards communities especially Muslims of the Country by a committee in this behalf.

d. Pass any such order(s) as this Hon’ble Court deems

fit in the interest of justice.”

20. In view of the limited scope of the above referred petition, the

Central Government is not filing a detailed affidavit on wider

issues. If this Hon'ble Court still considers it necessary to

undertake the exercise of laying down anything further over and

above the judicial pronouncements already occupying the field, it

may need a detailed affidavit on the part of the Central Government

and possibly a wider representation of the stake holders.

11

IV. NEED FOR REGULATION OF WEB BASED DIGITAL MEDIA AS

AGAINST ELECTRONIC OR PRINT MEDIA WHICH IS ALREADY

REGULATED BY THE ACTS OF COMPETENT LEGISLATURE AND

JUDICIAL PRONOUNCEMENTS:-

21. It may be pointed out that either for being a broadcaster or

for starting a newspaper in the print media, there are several

eligibility, criterions and qualifying standards to be fulfilled. For

operating or starting a news broadcast channel or the second

category of channel the company has to undergo a rigorous

registration process which includes deposit of performance

guarantee and also possession of minimum net worth of about 20

cr for the first channel and 3 cr for each new channel. For a non-

news channel the minimum net worth required is of 5 Cr for the

first channel and 2.5 Cr for each new channel. Apart from the same

being a broadcaster or a publisher also requires registration or

licensing from the statutory authorities and they are also governed

by statutory provisions. As pointed out hereinabove, by and large,

there is a self-regulatory mechanism in place which may require a

little fine tuning to remove the lacunae.

12

22. As against this, there is a parallel media which is going on

with wider reach and impact. The way electronic media uses

“airwaves” [which is a public property], the web based digital media

also uses “spectrum” and “internet” which is also a public property.

Web based digital media include digital web portals, web

magazines and channels run on video hosting platforms such as

you tube etc, which are in lakhs and crores in numbers.

Furthermore, for starting “web magazine”, “web based

portals”, “web based newspaper” or a “web based channels”, there

are no eligibility criterias or qualifications so far statutorily

stipulated. No registration is necessary as of now nor any statutory

provisions govern their functioning as of now except some

provisions of Information and Technology Act.

23. By the very nature of its composition, the print and electronic

media would rarely cross the line which may need intervention of

this Hon'ble Courts frequently.

As against that, by its very nature the web based digital

media, by and large, remains unregulated.

13

The print media has a limitation – only those who can read a

particular language can have access to a particular newspaper or a

magazine. The electronic media also has a limitation, as, by and

large, one would be able to access a “broadcast” or a channel only

when he has an access to a TV set and subscription through either

Direct to Home operator [DTH] or a cable operator.

As against this, any individual can start his own web based

channel by way of a ‘you tube channel’ and the only thing he needs

is a desire to start and a smart phone which can be accused by

anyone irrespective of either literacy or having a TV set or DTH /

cable operator services. In case of these viewers also, only thing

required is will to watch and a mobile instrument. Similarly

irrespective of complete lack of any eligibility or qualifying criterias,

anyone can start a “web magazine” or “web newspaper”. Here also,

the only thing required is a will to start and a laptop [if possible –

otherwise even a mobile phone is good enough].

24. It is also relevant to note that in case of a electronic and print

media, the security of the nation is also taken care of at the time of

the registration and / or grant of license to the company or the

14

organization intending to publish or broadcast either newspaper or

a news-channel. The registration also follows only after clearance

from Ministry of Home from the national security point of view [in

case of TV channels] and other statutory authorities [in case of

print media].

25. As against the limitation in case of print media [viz. one has

to be literate] and the mainstream electronic media [viz. one has to

a have a television set up], nothing is required for accessing digital

media except a smart phone. This shows its potential spread and

its potential to harm the very fabric of any nation. The electronic

media would normally have a geographical barrier and would rarely

have a global presence. The digital media, on the other hand, has

global presence both in terms of content coming from out of India

and the content going out from within the country.

26. As against this, there is absolutely no check on the web based

digital media. Apart from spreading venomous hatred, deliberate

and intended instigation to not only cause violence but even

terrorism it is also capable of indulging in tarnishing the image of

individuals and institutions. The said practice is, in fact, rampant.

15

Of course, this is also a subject matter which should be

examined and dealt with by the competent legislature. However, if

this Hon'ble Court considers it necessary to lay down guidelines for

the mainstream electronic and print media [which is not required

as pointed out hereinabove], it is the need of the hour that this

Hon'ble Court starts the said exercise first with “web based digital

media” which includes “web magazines” and “web-based news

channels” and “web-based news-papers” as the same not only has

a very wide reach but is completely uncontrolled.

27. It is, therefore, in the interest of justice and appropriate that

either this Hon'ble Court may leave wider issues to be considered

and decidedly the Central Government and the competent

legislature or starts with the exercise with an examination of the

very same issues in the context of digital media.

28. It is respectfully submitted that in case this Hon'ble Court

desires to travel into the wider issues then the issue in question

[including particular series or a particular TV channel], it is

absolutely inevitable to start with digital media. Any further

16

regulation of electronic and print media by this Hon'ble Court

either by way of guidelines or providing for any redressal

mechanism would incentivise broadcasters [who may otherwise be

desirous of publishing / telecasting undesirable content] to use

electronic media less and telecast / publish the same thing on

digital platforms which would remain unregulated despite having

wider reach without any corresponding responsibility or obligation.

Verification

I, the deponent above named, do hereby verify that the

contents of paras 1 to…of the affidavit are true to my knowledge, no

part of it is false and nothing material has been concealed

therefrom.

Verified at New Delhi on 21st day of September, 2020

17

Annexure R-1 18

Annexure R-226

MINISTRY OF INFORMATION & BROADCASTING SHASTRI BHAWAN, NEW DELHI

15th January, 2020

PUBLIC NOTICE

ON WEBSITE OF MINISTRY OF INFORMATION & BROADCASTING

SOLICITING SUGGESTIONS/FEEDBACK/COMMENTS/INPUTS/VIEWS FROM GENERAL PUBLIC/STAKEHOLDERS ON THE DRAFT “CABLE TELEVISION NETWORKS (REGULATION) AMENDMENT BILL, 2020”

General public/stakeholder is hereby informed that it is proposed to amend the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 with the approval of Hon’ble Minister for Information & Broadcasting. A statement on the existing provisions and the proposed amendments is given at Annexure-I. The extant “Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995” is attached.

Any person/stakeholder desirous of sending their views/comments/suggestions on the proposed amendments may do so by 17.02.2020 in the prescribed proforma at Annexure – II through e-mail at [email protected].

(Gopal Sadhwani) Director

Annexure R-3 30

Annexure-I.docx

Annexure-II.docx

mailto:[email protected]

1

Annexure-I

Amendments proposed to be included in the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act, 1995. Yellow highlight : Addition; Blue highlight: deletion

Sl.

No.

Section Existing provision Proposed

1

2(a)

[ “authorised officer” means, within

his local limits of jurisdiction, —

(i) a District Magistrate, or

(ii) a Sub-divisional Magistrate, or

(iii) a Commissioner of Police,

and includes any other officer notified in

the Official Gazette, by the Central

Government or the State Government, to

be an authorised officer for such local

limits of jurisdiction as may be

determined by that Government;]

Addition of “Additional District Magistrate”

[ “authorised officer” means, within his local limits of jurisdiction,

—

(i) a District Magistrate, or

(ii) a Sub-divisional Magistrate, or

(iii) a Commissioner of Police,

and includes any other officer notified in the Official Gazette, by the

Central Government or the State Government, to be an authorised

officer for such local limits of jurisdiction as may be determined by

that Government;] or

(iv) an Additional District Magistrate,

2

2(ai)

["Authority" means the Telecom

Regulatory Authority of India

established under sub-section (1) of

Broadening the scope of the “Authority”

["Authority" means the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

established under sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Telecom

31

2

section 3 of the Telecom Regulatory

Authority of India Act, 1997 (24 of

1997);]

Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 (24 of 1997);] or any such

authority prescribed by the central Government.

3 2(aiii)

“Cable operator" means any person

who provides cable service through a

cable television network or otherwise

controls or is responsible for the

management and operation of a cable

television network and fulfils the

prescribed eligibility criteria and

conditions;

Inclusion of LCO and MSO in ‘Definitions’ under “Cable Operator”

"Cable operator" means any person Local Cable Operator (LCO) or

Multi System Operator (MSO) as the case may be, who provides

cable service through a cable television network or otherwise controls

or is responsible for the management and operation of a cable

television network and fulfils the prescribed eligibility criteria and

conditions;

4 2(c) Insertion of a new sub section as

2(c)(i)-(iii) below Section 2 (c) – which

is about Cable Television Network -- to

include definitions of Ground-Based

Channel, Platform Services, Satellite TV

channel.

Inclusion of “Ground-Based Channel”, “Platform Service” and

“Satellite TV channel” in ‘Definitions’

“2(c) (i): “Ground-Based Channel” - is a channel that is transmitted

at the headend of the DPO terrestrially and is not a Platform Service

channel, satellite-based channel or a Doordarshan channel.

(ii) “Platform Service” – are programs transmitted by Distribution

Platform Operators (DPOs) exclusively to their own subscribers and

does not include Doordarshan channels and registered TV channels.

32

3

(iii) “Satellite TV channel” - is a service that delivers television

programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications

satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer’s location via the use

of receiving equipment.

5

2(d)

“Company” means a company as

defined in section 3 of the Companies

Act, 1956 (1 of 1956);

Revising the definition of the “Company” as per the new Company

Act

“Company” means a company as defined in section 2(20) of the

Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013);

6

2(d)

Insertion of new sub-sections of 2 (d )

as 2(d) (ii) - (d) (vii)

Inclusion of definitions of “DPO”, “DTH”, “HITS”, “IPTV”,

“LCO” and “MSO”

2(d) (i): “Company” means a company as defined section 2(20) of

the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013

2(d)(ii): “Distribution Platform Operators (DPOs)” include Direct-

to-Home (DTH) Operator, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV)

Operator, Headend-in-the-Sky (HITS) Operator, Multi System

Operator (MSO), and Local Cable Operator (LCO),

2(d) (iii): “Direct-to-Home (DTH)” is a digital satellite service that

provides TV signals directly to subscribers anywhere in the country.

33

4

DTH TV signals are received by the subscribers directly from the

satellite by using a small outdoor dish antenna that is mounted to

point towards satellite.

2(d)(iv): “Headend-in-the-Sky (HITS)” Broadcasting Service, refers

to the multichannel downlinking and distribution of television

programme in C-Band or Ku Band, wherein all the pay channels are

downlinked at a central facility (Hub/Teleport) and again uplinked to

a satellite after encryption of channels. At the cable headend these

encrypted pay channels are downlinked using a single satellite

antenna, transmodulated and sent to the subscribers by using a land-

based transmission system comprising of infrastructure of

cable/optical fibres network.

2(d)(v): “Internet Protocol Television (IPTV)” service (or

technology) is the convergence service (or technology) of the

telecommunication and broadcasting through QoS controlled

Broadband Convergence IP Network including wire and wireless for

the managed, controlled and secured delivery of a considerable

number of multimedia contents such as Video, Audio, data and

applications processed by platform to a customer via Television,

PDA, Cellular, and Mobile TV terminal with STB module or similar

device.

2(d)(vi): “Local Cable Operator (LCO)” means any person or entity

registered as a Cable Operator under Rule 5 of CTN Rule 1994 as

amended and who receives signal from MSO for further transmission.

34

5

2(d)(vii): “Multi System Operator (MSO)” mean a cable operator

who has been granted registration under Rule 11 of CTN Rules, 1994

as amended, and who receives a programming service from a

broadcaster or his authorised agencies and re-transmits the same or

transmits his own programming service for simultaneous reception

either by multiple subscribers directly or through one or more local

Cable Operator, and includes his authorised distribution agencies by

whatever name called.”

7

2

e(iii)

(e) “person” means:

(i) an individual who is a citizen of

India;

(ii) an association of individuals or body

of individuals, whether incorporated or

not, whose members are citizens of

India;

(iii) a company as defined in section 3

of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of

1956)”.

Revising the definition of the “Company” as per the new Company

Act

e) “person” means:

(i) an individual who is a citizen of India;

(ii) an association of individuals or body of individuals, whether

incorporated or not, whose members are citizens of India;

(iii) a company as defined in section 3 of the Companies Act, 1956 ( 1

of 1956)” section 2(20) of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013)”.

8

2

There is a Notification below Section 2,

reproduced below, which specifies Head

Post Master as the registering authority

Deletion of Notification

“ The Head Post Master of a Head Post Office of the area within

35

6

for cable operator (Local Cable

Operator):

“The Head Post Master of a Head Post

Office of the area within whose

territorial jurisdiction the office of the

cable operator is situated, has been

notified as the Registering Authority,

vide S.O. 718(E), dated 29th September,

1994.

whose territorial jurisdiction the office of the cable operator is

situated, has been notified as the Registering Authority, vide S.O.

718(E), dated 29th

September, 1994.

9 4(1)

“Registration as cable operator --(1)

Any person who is desirous of operating

or is operating a cable television

network may apply for registration or

renewal of registration, as a cable

operator to the registering authority”

Insertion of negative list for registration as cable operator

“Registration as cable operator--(1) Any person who is desirous of

operating or is operating a cable television network may apply for

registration or renewal of registration, as a cable operator to the

registering authority”

“Provided that such a registration or renewal of registration shall not

be granted to the State Governments, urban and local bodies, political

and religious bodies, State Government Departments, State

36

7

Government owned companies, State Government undertakings, Joint

ventures of the State Government and the private sector and State

Government funded entities.”

10 4 (3) “(3) On and from the date of issue of

notification under section 4A, no new

registration in a State, city, town or area

notified under that section shall be

granted to any cable operator who does

not undertake to transmit or re-transmit

channels in an encrypted form through a

digital addressable system.”

Deletion of Section 4(3) in view of completion of digitalisation

“(3) On and from the date of issue of notification under section 4A,

no new registration in a State, city, town or area notified under that

section shall be granted to any cable operator who does not undertake

to transmit or re-transmit channels in an encrypted form through a

digital addressable system.”

37

8

11

4 A

(1)

“4A.Transmission of programmes

through digital addressable systems, etc.: (1) Where the Central Government

is satisfied that it is necessary in the

public interest so to do, it may, by

notification in the Official Gazette,

make it obligatory for every cable

operator to transmit or re-transmit

programmes of any channel in an

encrypted form through a digital

addressable system with effect from

such date as may be specified in the

notification and different dates may be

specified for different States, cities,

towns or areas, as the case may be:

Provided that the date specified in the

notification shall not be earlier than six

months from the date of issue of such

notification to enable the cable operators

in different States, cities, towns or areas

Revising the text in view of completion of digitalisation

“4A. Transmission of programmes through digital addressable

systems, etc. : (1) “Where the Central Government is satisfied that it

is necessary in the public interest so to do, it may, by notification in

the Official Gazette, make It is obligatory for every cable operator to

transmit or re-transmit programmes of any channel in an encrypted

form through a digital addressable system only.” with effect from

such date as may be specified in the notification and different dates

may be specified for different States, cities, towns or areas, as the

case may be:

Provided that the date specified in the notification shall not be earlier

than six months from the date of issue of such notification to enable

the cable operators in different States, cities, towns or areas to install

the equipment required for the purpose of this sub-section”

38

9

to install the equipment required for the

purpose of this sub-section.”

12 4A(2)

“(2)“The Central Government may

prescribe appropriate measures and take

such steps as it may consider necessary

for implementation of the notification

issued under sub-section (1).”

Deletion of Section 4 A(2) in view of completion of digitalisation

“(2)The Central Government may prescribe appropriate measures and

take such steps as it may consider necessary for implementation of the

notification issued under sub-section (1).”

13 4-A

(8) (a)

"addressable system" means an

electronic device (which includes

hardware and its associated software) or

more than one electronic device put in

an integrated system through which

signals of cable television network can

be sent in encrypted form, which can be

decoded by the device or devices,

having an activated Conditional Access

System at the premises of the subscriber

within the limits of authorisation made,

through the Conditional Access System

and the subscriber management system,

on the explicit choice and request of

such subscriber, by the cable operator to

Revising definition of addressable system.

"addressable system" means an electronic device (which includes

hardware and its associated software) or more than one electronic

device put in an integrated system through which transmission of

signal carrying programme including re-transmission of such signals

of satellite and cable television network can be sent is provisioned in

encrypted form, which can be decoded by the device or devices,

having an activated Conditional Access System authorised to decode

the television channel programme or frequency at the premises of the

subscriber within the limits of authorisation made, through the

Conditional Access System and the subscriber management system,

on the explicit choice and request of such subscriber, by the cable

operator to the subscriber; for clarity the requirement of encryption

shall apply to all frequencies, programmes and television channels,

including all programme services provided by the cable operator.

39

10

the subscriber;

14

4A

There are six definitions below Section

4A(8) numbering (a) to (f) as follows :

(a) Addressable system

(b) Basic service tier

(c) Encrypted

(d) Free-to-air channel

(e) Pay channel

(f) Subscriber management system

Shifting definitions from Section 4A to Section 2

It is proposed to shift these definitions from Section 4 A to Section 2,

which is about definitions, at appropriate places in alphabetical order.

15

4B

Right of way for cable operators and permission by public authority.-(1)

Subject to the provisions of this Act, any

cable operator entitled for providing

cable services may, from time to time,

lay and establish cables and erect posts

under, over, along, across, in or upon

any immovable property vested in or

under the control or management of a

public authority.

Inclusion of ‘broadband internet access’ in right of way

Right of way for cable operators and permission by public

authority:-(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, any cable

operator entitled for providing cable services / broadband internet

access may, from time to time, lay and establish cables and erect

posts under, over, along, across, in or upon any immovable property

vested in or under the control or management of a public authority.

16

5

“Programme code: No person shall

Inclusion of Broadcaster / DPO

“Programme code : No person Broadcaster or DPO shall transmit or

40

11

transmit or re-transmit through a cable

service any programme unless such

programme is in conformity with the

prescribed programme code.”

re-transmit or cause to transmit through a cable service any

programme unless such programme is in conformity with the

prescribed programme code.”

17

6

“Advertisement code: -No person shall


service any advertisement unless such

advertisement is in conformity with the

prescribed advertisement code.”

Inclusion of Broadcaster / DPO

“Advertisement code: No person Broadcaster or DPO shall transmit

or re-transmit or cause to transmit through a cable service any

programme unless such programme is in conformity with the

prescribed Advertisement code.”

18

5

“Programme code : No person shall


service any programme unless such

programme is in conformity with the

prescribed programme code.

Inclusion of penalties for violation of Section 5

“Programme code : No person shall transmit or re-transmit through

a cable service any programme unless such programme is in

conformity with the prescribed programme code.”

“Whosoever contravenes Section 5 will invite penalties as provided in

Section 16(2) ”.

Inclusion of penalties for violation of Section 6

41

12

19 6 “Advertisement code. -No person shall


service any advertisement unless such

advertisement is in conformity with the

prescribed advertisement code.”

“Advertisement code. -No person shall transmit or re-transmit

through a cable service any advertisement unless such advertisement

is in conformity with the prescribed advertisement code.”

“Whosoever contravenes Section 6 will invite penalties as provided in

Section 16(2)”.

20 7

“Maintenance of register : Every cable

operator shall maintain a register in the

prescribed form indicating therein in

brief the programmes transmitted or re-

transmitted through the cable service

during a month and such register shall

be maintained by the cable operator for

a period of one year after the actual

transmission or re-transmission of the

said programmes.”

Shifting data maintenance from manual to electronic form

“Maintenance of register : Every cable Operator shall keep the data

on programmes transmitted or re-transmitted through their Cable

Network in form of Electronic Programming Guide (EPG) and

electronically generated Log for a period of one year and also share

the same with the Authorised Officer and the Central Government as

and when required”.

21 8 (1)

“The Central Government may, by


specify the names of Doordarshan

channels or the channels operated by or

on behalf of Parliament, to be

mandatorily carried by the cable

Deletion of obsolete provison

“The Central Government may, by notification in the Official

Gazette, specify the names of Doordarshan channels or the channels

operated by or on behalf of Parliament, to be mandatorily carried by

the cable operators in their cable service and the manner of reception

and re-transmission of such channels.”

42

13

operators in their cable service and the

manner of reception and re-transmission

of such channels.”

“Provided that in areas where digital

addressable system has not been

introduced in accordance with the

provisions of sub–section (1) of Section

4A, the notifications as regards the

prime band is considered shall be

limited to the carriage of two

Doordarshan terrestrial channels and

one regional language channel of the

State in which the network of the cable

operator is located.”

“Provided that in areas where digital addressable system has not

been introduced in accordance with the provisions of sub -section (1)

of Section 4A, the notifications as regards the prime band is

considered shall be limited to the carriage of two Doordarshan

terrestrial channels and one regional language channel of the State in

which the network of the cable operator is located.”

22 9 “Use of standard equipment in cable

television network : No cable operator

shall, on and from the date of the expiry

of a period of three years from the date

of the establishment and publication of

the Indian Standard by the Bureau of

Indian Standards in accordance with the

provisions of the Bureau of Indian

Standards Act, 1986 (63 of 1986), use

Inclusion of certification of the equipment by BECIL or any other

technical auditor

“Use of standard equipment in cable television network : No cable

operator shall, on and from the date of the expiry of a period of three

years from the date of the establishment and publication of the Indian

Standard by the Bureau of Indian Standards in accordance with the

provisions of the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986 (63 of 1986),

use any [equipment or digital addressable system] in his cable

television network unless such [equipment or digital addressable

system] conforms to the said Indian Standard, as certified by the

Broadcasting Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL) or

43

14

any [equipment or digital addressable

system] in his cable television network

unless such [equipment or digital

addressable system] conforms to the

said Indian Standard.”

another certified technical auditor.”

23 11

“Power to seize equipment used for

operating cable television network.: If

any authorised officer has reason to

believe that the provisions of section 3,

section 4A, section 5, section 6, section

8, section 9 or section 10 have been or

are being contravened by any cable

operator, he may seize the equipment

being used by such cable operator for

operating the cable television network:

Provided that the seizure of equipment

in case of contravention of sections 5

and 6 shall be limited to the

programming service provided on the

channel generated at the level of the

cable operator.]”

Inclusion of Section 19 and Section 20 in Section 11

“Power to seize equipment used for operating cable television

network. : If any authorised officer has reason to believe that the

provisions of section 3, section 4A, section 5, section 6, section 8,

section 9, or section 10 , Section 19 or Section 20 have been or are

being contravened by any cable operator, he may seize the equipment

being used by such cable operator for operating the cable television

network:

Provided that the seizure of equipment in case of contravention of

sections 5 and 6 shall be limited to the programming service provided

on the channel generated at the level of the cable operator.]”

44

15

24

12

“Confiscation : The equipment seized

under sub-section (1) of section 11 shall

be liable to confiscation unless the cable

operator from whom the equipment has

been seized registers himself as a cable

operator under section 4 within a period

of thirty days from the date of seizure of

the said equipment.”

Deletion of the word “sub-section (1)”

“Confiscation : The equipment seized under sub-section (1) of

section 11 shall be liable to confiscation unless the cable operator

from whom the equipment has been seized registers himself as a cable

operator under section 4 within a period of thirty days from the date

of seizure of the said equipment.”

25

16

“Punishment for contravention of

provisions of this Act. -- [(1)] Whoever

contravenes any of the provisions of this

Act shall be punishable,

(a) for the first offence, with

imprisonment for a term which may

extend to two years or with fine which

may extend to one thousand rupees or

with both;

Increasing the monetary penalty amount, and insertion of a new sub-

section regarding penalties for violation of the Programme Code and

the Advertisement Code

“Punishment for contravention of provisions of this Act. --

[(1)] Whoever contravenes any of the provisions of this Act shall be

punishable,

(a) for the first offence, with imprisonment for a term which may

extend to two years or with fine which may extend to one ten

thousand rupees or with both;

(b) for every subsequent offence, with imprisonment for a term which

may extend to five years and with fine which may extend to five fifty

thousand rupees.

45

16

(b) for every subsequent offence, with

imprisonment for a term which may

extend to five years and with fine which

may extend to five thousand rupees.

[(2) Notwithstanding anything contained

in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

(2 of 1974), the contravention of section

4-A shall be a cognizable offence under

this section.]”

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) of Section

16, any violation of the Programme Code under Section 5 or

Advertisement Code under Section 6 shall invite one or more of the

following actions :

(i) Issuing advisory, or censure, or warning

(ii) Prohibition of transmission of offending programme;

(iii) Apology scroll specifying the date and time;

(iv) Prohibition of transmission of the channel for a period not

exceeding thirty days;

(v) In instances where actions referred to in clauses (ii) and (iv)

above are repeated five times or more for a channel, the

Central Government may cancel the permission granted to

the channel after giving due opportunity to the channel.

Provided that no such action shall be taken without giving the

Broadcaster/ DPO/ cable operator an opportunity of being heard.

[(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal

Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), the contravention of section 4-A,

Section 19 or Section 20 shall be a cognizable offence under this

section.]”

46

17

26

20

“Power to prohibit operation of cable television network in public interest.--

[(1)] Where the Central Government

thinks it necessary or expedient so to do

in public interest, it may prohibit the

operation of any cable television

network in such areas as it may, by


specify in this behalf.”

Inclusion of “any other DPO”

“Power to prohibit operation of cable television network in public interest.--[(1)] Where the Central Government thinks it necessary or

expedient so to do in public interest, it may prohibit the operation of

any cable television network / or any other DPO in such areas as it

may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this behalf.”

27 21

Application of other laws not barred .The provisions of this Act shall

be in addition to, and not in derogation

of, the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940

(23 of 1940), the Pharmacy Act, 1948 (8

of 1948), the Emblems and Names

(Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950

(12 of 1950), the Drugs (Control) Act,

1950 (26 of 1950), the Cinematograph

Addition of other relevant laws and updating the existing ones

Application of other laws not barred .The provisions of this Act

shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, the Drugs and

Cosmetics Act, 1940 (23 of 1940), the Pharmacy Act, 1948 (8 of

1948), the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act,

1950 (12 of 1950), the Drugs (Control) Act, 1950 (26 of 1950), the

Cinematograph Act, 1952 (37 of 1952), the Drugs and Magic

Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 (21 of 1954),

the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 (37 of 1954) the Food

Safety and Standards Act 2006 (34 of 2006), the Prize Competitions

Act, 1955 (42 of 1955), the Copyright Act, 1957 (14 of 1957),

47

18

Act, 1952 (37 of 1952), the Drugs and

Magic Remedies (Objectionable

Advertisements) Act, 1954 (21 of 1954),

the Prevention of Food Adulteration

Act, 1954 (37 of 1954), the Prize

Competitions Act, 1955 (42 of 1955),

the Copyright Act, 1957 (14 of 1957),

the [Trade and Merchandise Marks Act,

1958 (43 of 1958),] the Indecent

Representation of Women (Prohibition)

Act, 1986 (60 of 1986) [the Consumer

Protection Act, 1986 (68 of 1986) and

the Telecom Regulatory Authority of

India Act, 1997 (24 of 1997)]

the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 (43 of 1958), the Trade

Marks Act 1999 (47 of 1999), the Indecent Representation of

Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 (60 of 1986) [the Consumer

Protection Act, 1986 (68 of 1986) 2019 ( 35 of 2019) and the

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 (24 of 1997)],

The Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of

Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Products,

Supply and Distribution) Act 2003 (34 of 2003) ; the Indian

Telegraph Act, 1885 (13 of 1885); the Information Technology Act,

2000 (21 of 2000);

28

22 (d) “(d): the form of register to be

maintained by a cable operator under

section 7;”

Shifting data maintenance from manual to electronic form

“(d) : a cable operator shall maintain data on programmes transmitted

or re-transmitted in the form of EPG and electronically generated

Log, under Section 7”.

48

CABLE TELEVISION NETWORKS (REGULATION) ACT, 1995

[Act No. 7 of Year 1995, dated 25-3-1995] (as amended upto 31.8.07)

An Act to regulate the operation of cable television networks in the country and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Be it enacted by Parliament in the Forty-sixth year of the Republic of India as follows: -

CHAPTER 1: PRELIMINARY

1. Short title, extent and commencement:(1) This Act may be called the Cable Television Networks (Regulation)Act,1995.(2) It extends to the whole of India.(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 29th day of September,1994.2. Definitions :In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-(a) “authorised officer” means, within his local limits of jurisdiction;-

(i) a District Magistrate, or(ii) a Sub-divisional Magistrate, or(iii) a Commissioner of Police,

and includes any other officer notified in the Official Gazette, by the Central Government or the State Government, to be an authorised officer for such local limits of jurisdiction as may be determined by that Government; (aa) “cable operator’ means any person who provides cable service through a cable television network or otherwise controls or is responsible for the management and operation of a cable television network; (b) “cable service” means the transmission by cables of programmesincluding re-transmission by cable of anybroadcast television signals;(c) “cable television network” means any system consistingof a set of closed transmission paths and associated signal generation,control and distribution equipment, designed to provide cable service forreception by multiple subscribers;(d) “company” means a company as defined in section 3 of the CompaniesAct, 1956 (1 of 1956);(e) “person” means-

(i) an individual who is a citizen of India;

49

(ii) an association of individuals or body of individuals, whetherincorporated or not, whose members are citizen of India;(iii) a company in which not less than fifty-one percent of the paid upshare capital is held by the citizens of India;

(f) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;(g) “programme” means any television broadcast and includes-

(i) exhibition of films, features, dramas, advertisement and serialsthrough video cassette recorders or video cassette players;(ii) any audio or visual or audio-visual live performance orpresentation, and the expression “programme service” shall beconstrued accordingly;

(h) “registering authority” means such authority as the Central Governmentmay, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify to perform the functionsof the registering authority under this Act;(i) “subscriber” means a person who receives the signals of cable televisionnetwork at a place indicated by him to the cable operator, without furthertransmitting it to any other person.

CHAPTER II: REGULATION OF CABLE TELEVISION NETWORK

3. Cable television network not to be operated except afterRegistration:- No person shall operate a cable television network unless heis registered as a cable operator under this Act:

PROVIDED that a person operating a cable television network, immediately before the commencement of this act, may continue to do so for a period of ninety days from such commencement; and if he has made an application for registration as a cable operator under section 4 within the said period, till he is registered under that section or the registering authority refuses to grant registration to him under that section. 4. Registration as cable operator :- (1) Any person who is operating or isdesirous of operating a cable television network may apply for registrationas a cable operator to the registering authority.(2) An application under sub-section (1) shall be made in such form and beaccompanied by such fees as may be prescribed.(3) On receipt of the application, the registering authority shall satisfy itselfthat the applicant has furnished all the required information and on being sosatisfied, register the applicant as a cable operator and grant to him acertificate of such registration:

50

PROVIDED that the registering authority may, for reasons to be recorded in writing and communicated to the applicant, refuse to grant registration to him if it is satisfied that he does not fulfil the conditions specified in clause (e) of section 2. 4A. Transmission of programmes through addressable systems:- (1) Where the Central Government is satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make it obligatory for every cable operator to transmit or retransmit programme of any pay channel through an addressable system with effect from such date as may be specified in the notification and different dates may be specified for different States, cities, towns or areas, as the case may be. (2) If the Central Government is satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify one or more free-to-air channels to be included in the package of channels forming basic service tier and any or more such channels may be specified, in the notification, genre-wise for providing a programme mix of entertainment, information, education and such other programmes. (3) The Central Government may specify in the notification referred to in sub-section (2) , the number of free-to-air channels to be included in the package of channels forming basic service tier for the purposes of that sub-section and different numbers may be specified for different States, cities, towns or areas, as the case may be. (4) If the Central Government is satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify the maximum amount which a cable operator may demand from the subscriber for receiving the programmes transmitted in the basic service tier provided by such cable operator. (5) Notwithstanding anything-contained in sub-section (4), the Central Government may, for the purposes of that sub-section, specify in the notification referred to in that sub-section different maximum amounts for different States, cities, towns or areas, as the case may be. (6) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, programmes of basic service tier shall be receivable by any subscriber on the receiver set of a type existing immediately before the commencement of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2002 without any addressable system attached with such receiver set in any manner. (7) Every cable operator shall publicise, in the prescribed manner, to the subscribers the subscription rates and the periodic intervals at which such subscriptions are payable for receiving each pay channel provided by such cable operator.

51

(8) The cable operator shall not require any subscriber to have a receiver set of a particular type to receive signals of cable television network; Provided that the subscriber shall use an addressable system to be attached to his receiver set for receiving programmes transmitted on pay channel. (9) Every cable operator shall submit a report to the Central Government in the prescribed form and manner containing the information regarding-

(i) the number of total subscribers; (ii) subscription rates; (iii) number of subscribers receiving programmes transmitted in basic service tier or particular programme or set of programmes transmitted on pay channel, in respect of cable services provided by such cable operator through a cable television network, and such report shall be submitted periodically at such intervals as may be prescribed and shall also contain the rate of amount, if any, payable by the cable operator to any broadcaster.

Explanation.- For the purposes of this section,- (a) “addressable system” means an electronic device or more than one electronic devices put in an integrated system through which signals of cable television network can be sent in encrypted or unencrypted form, which can be decoded by the device or devices at the premises of the subscriber within the limits of authorisation made, on the choice and request of such subscriber, by the cable operator to the subscriber; (b) “basic service tier” means a package of free-to-air channels provided by a cable operator, for a single price to the subscribers of the area in which his cable television network is providing service and such channels are receivable for viewing by the subscribers on the receiver set of a type existing immediately before the commencement of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2002 without any addressable system attached to such receiver set in any manner; (c) ”channel” means a set of frequencies used for transmission of a programme; (d) ”encrypted”, in respect of a signal of cable television network, means the changing of such signal in a systematic way so that the signal would be unintelligible without a suitable receiving equipment and the expression “unencrypted” shall be construed accordingly; (e) “free-to-air channel”, in respect of a cable television network, means a channel, the reception of which would not require the use of any addressable system, to be attached with the receiver set of a subscriber;

52

(f) “pay channel”, in respect of a cable television network, means a channel, the reception of which by the subscriber would require the use of an addressable system, to be attached to his receiver set; 5. Programme code : No person shall transmit or re-transmit through a cable service any programme unless such programme is in conformity with the prescribed programme code: 6. Advertisement code : No person shall transmit or re-transmit through a cable service any advertisement unless such advertisement is in conformity with the prescribed advertisement code: 7. Maintenance of register : Every cable operator shall maintain a register in the prescribed form indicating therein in brief the programmes transmitted or retransmitted through the cable service during a month and such register shall be maintained by the cable operator for a period of one year after the actual transmission or re-transmission of the said programmes. 8. Compulsory transmission of two Doordarshan channels : (1) Every cable operator shall retransmit,- (i) channels operated by or on behalf of Parliament in the manner and name as may be specified by the CentralGovernment by notification in the Official Gazette; (ii) at least two Doordarshan terrestrial Channels and one regional language channel of a State in the Prime band, in satellite mode on frequencies other than those carrying terrestrial frequencies (2) The channels referred to in sub-section (1) shall be retransmitted without any deletion or alteration of any programme transmitted on such channels. (3) The Prasar Bharti ( Broadcasting Corporation of India) established under sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Prasar Bharti ( Broadcasting Corporation of India) act,1990 (25 of 1990) may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify the number and name of every Doordarshan channel to be retransmitted by cable operators in their cable service and the manner of reception and retransmission of such channels. 9. Use of standard equipment in cable Television network : No cable operator shall, on and from the date of the expiry of a period of three years from the date of the establishment and publication of the Indian Standard by the Bureau of Indian Standards in accordance with the provisions of the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986 (63 of 1986), use any equipment in his

53

cable television network unlesssuch equipment conforms to the said Indian Standard. PROVIDED that the equipment required for the proposes of section 4A shall be installed by cable operator in his cable television network within six months from the date, specified in the notification issued under sub-section (1) of that section, in accordance with the provisions of the said Act for said purposes. 10. Cable Television network not to interfere with any telecommunication system :- Every cable operator shall ensure that the cable Television network being operated by him does not interfere, in any way, with the functioning of the authorised telecommunication systems.

CHAPTER III SEIZURE AND CONFISCATION OF CERTAIN EQUIPMENT

11. Power to seize equipment used for operating the cable television network :- (1) If any authorised officer has reason to believe that the provisions of section 3, 4A, 5, 6 or 8 have been or are being contravened by any cable operator, he may seize the equipment being used by such cable operator for operating the cable television network. (2) No such equipment shall be retained by the authorised officer for a period exceeding ten days from the date of its seizure unless the approval of the District Judge, within the local limits of whose jurisdiction such seizure has been made, has been obtained for such retention. 12. Confiscation :- The equipment seized under sub-section (1) of section 11 shall be liable to confiscation unless the cable operator from whom the equipment has been seized registers himself as a cable operator under section 4 within a period of thirty days from the date of seizure of the said equipment. 13. Seizure or confiscation of equipment not to interfere with the other punishment :l- No seizure or confiscation of equipment referred to in section 11 or section 12 shall prevent the infliction of any punishment to which the person affected thereby is liable under the provisions of this Act. 14. Giving of opportunity to the cable operator of seized equipment:-

54

(1) No order adjudicating confiscation of the equipment referred to insection 12 shall be made unless the cable operator has been given a notice inwriting informing him of the grounds on which it is proposed to confiscatesuch equipment and giving him a reasonable opportunity of making arepresentation in writing, within such reasonable time as may be specified inthe notice against the confiscation and if he so desires of being heard in thematter:PROVIDED that where no such notice is given within a period of ten daysfrom the days of the seizure of the equipment, such equipment shall bereturned after the expiry of that period to the cable operator from whosepossession it was seized.(2) Save as otherwise provided in sub-section (1), the provisions of the Codeof Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) shall, so far as may be, apply to everyproceeding referred to in sub-section (1).

15. Appeal .- (1) Any person aggrieved by any decision of the courtadjudicating a confiscation of the equipment may prefer an appeal to thecourt to which an appeal lies from the decision of such court.(2) The appellate court may, after giving the appellant an opportunity ofbeing heard, pass such order as it thinks fit confirming, modifying orrevising the decision appealed against or may send back the case with suchdirections as it may think fit for a fresh decision or adjudication, as the casemay be, after taking additional evidence if necessary.(3) No further appeal shall lie against the order of the court made under sub-section (2).

CHAPTER IV OFFENCES AND PENALTIES

16. Punishment for contravention of provisions of this Act :- (1)Whoever contravenes any of the provisions of this Act shall be punishable,-(a) for the first offence, with imprisonment for a term which may extend totwo years or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees or withboth;(b) for every subsequent offence, with imprisonment for a term which mayextend to five years and with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees.(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure,1973(2 of 1974), the contravention of section 4A shall be a cognizableoffence under this section

55

17. Offences by companies :- (1) Where an offence under this Act has beencommitted by a company, every person who, at the time the offence wascommitted, was incharge of and was responsible to the company for theconduct of the business of the company, as well as the company, shall bedeemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceededagainst and punished accordingly:PROVIDED that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any suchperson liable to any punishment, if he proves that the offence was committedwithout his knowledge or that he had exercised all due diligence to preventthe commission of such offence.(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where anyoffence under this Act has been committed by a company and it is provedthat the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or isattributable to any negligence on the part of , any director, manager,secretary or other officer of the company, such director, manager, secretaryor the officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall beliable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.Explanation : For the purposes of this section,-(a) “company” means any body corporate and includes a firm or otherassociation of individuals; and(b) “director” in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.

18. Cognizance of offences :- No court shall take cognizance of any offencepunishable under this Act except upon a compliant in writing made by anyauthorized officer.

CHAPTER V MISCELLANEOUS

19. Power to prohibit transmission of certain programmes in publicinterest:- Where any authorised officer thinks it necessary or expedient soto do in public interest, he may, by order, prohibit any cable operator fromtransmitting or re-transmitting any programme or channel if, it is not inconformity with the prescribed programme code referred to in section 5 andadvertisement code referred to in section 6 or if it is likely to promote, ongrounds of religion, race, language, caste or community or any other groundwhatsoever, disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will betweendifferent religious, racial, linguistic or regional groups or castes orcommunities or which is likely to disturb the public tranquility.

56

20. Power to prohibit operation of cable television network in publicinterest :- (1) Where the Central Government thinks it necessary orexpedient so to do in public interest, it may prohibit the operation of anycable television network in such areas as it may, by notification in theOfficial Gazette, specify in this behalf.(2) Where the Central Government thinks it necessary or expedient so to doin the interest of the-

(i) sovereignty or integrity of India; or(ii) security of India; or(iii) friendly relations of India with any foreign State; or(iv) public order, decency or morality, it may, by order, regulate orprohibit the transmission or retransmission of any channel orprogramme.

(3) Where the Central Government considers that any programmeof anychannel is not in conformity with the prescribed programme code referred toin section 5 or the prescribed advertisement code referred to in section 6, itmay by order, regulate or prohibit the transmission or re-transmission ofsuch programme.

21. Application of other laws not barred :- The provisions of this Act shallbe in addition to, and not in derogation of, the Drugs and Cosmetics Act,1940 (23 of 1940), the Pharmacy Act, 1948 (8 of 1948), the Emblems andNames (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 (12 of 1950), the Drugs(Control) Act, 1950 (26 of 1950), the Cinematograph Act, 1952 (37 of1952), the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act,1954 (21 of 1954), the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 (37 of1954), the Prize Competitions Act, 1955 (42 of 1955), the Copyright Act,1957 (14 of 1957), the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 (43 of1958), the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 (60 of1986) and the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (68 of 1986)

22. Power to make rules :- (1) The Central Government may, bynotification in the Official Gazette, make rules to carry out the provisions ofthis Act.(2) In particulars, and without prejudice to the generality of theforgoingpower, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters,namely:-

(a) the form of application and the fee payable under subsection (2)of section 4;

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(aa) the manner of publicising the subscription rates and the periodical intervals at which such subscriptions are payable under sub-section (7) of section 4A; (aaa) the form and manner of submitting report under subsection (9) of section 4A and the interval at which such report shall be submitted periodically under that subsection, (b) the programme code under section 5; (c) the advertisement code under section 6; (d) the form of register to be maintained by a cable operator under section 7; (e) any other matter which is required to be, or may be, prescribed.

(3) Every rule made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule. 23. Repeal and saving :- (1) The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Ordinance, 1995 (3 of 1995) is hereby repealed. (2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken under the said Ordinance, shall be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act.

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Annexure-II

Proforma for views/comments/suggestions on the draft

Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020 Serial No

Proposed Amendment (Section-wise)

Views/Comments/Suggestions/Remarks/Recommendations

Signature

(Name in block letters) Occupation-

Address- Phone/Mobile No-

Email-

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File No: 1501/34/2009-TV(I) Government of India

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Broadcasting Wing

New Delhi. Dated: 5th December, 2011

POLICY GUIDELINES FOR UPLIKING OF TELEVISION CHANNELS FROM INDIA

PREAMBLE

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India notified the “Guidelines for Uplinking from India” in July 2000. This was followed by “Guidelines for Uplinking of News and Current Affairs TV Channels from India” in March 2003, which were amended in August 2003. Further followed by “Guidelines for use of SNG/DSNGs” in May 2003 and addendum dated 1.4.2005 to the Uplinking guidelines. The Government has, on 20th October 2005, further amended these Guidelines, which came into effect from 2nd December 2005. Some amendments to these Guidelines have also come into operation as a result of enactment of the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act, 2007 and the rules and notifications thereunder. Some amendments were also needed in the provisions relating to the determination of the foreign investment in the applicant/permission holder company to bring them in line with the extant FDI Policy of the Government. The Government has, on 7th October 2011 further amended these guidelines. Accordingly, in supersession of all previous guidelines, the Government hereby notifies the following consolidated Uplinking Guidelines. These shall come into effect from today the 05th December, 2011 and would be applicable to existing channels as well.

GENERAL

The applicant seeking permission to set up an Uplinking Hub/ Teleport or Uplink a TV Channel or Uplink facility by a News Agency should be a company registered in India under the Companies Act, 1956.

1. PERMISSION FOR SETTING UP OF UPLINKING HUB/ TELEPORTS

1.1. Eligibility Criteria

1.1.1. In the applicant company, the foreign equity holding including NRI/OCB/PIO should not exceed 49%.

1.1.2. The Company should have a minimum Net Worth as prescribed below:[

[Item Required Net Worth For the first Teleport Rs. 3.00 Crore For each additional Teleport Rs. 1.00 Crore]

1.1.3. Notwithstanding the provisions contained in Para 1.1.2, the minimum networth requirement for additional Teleport of a Company, which held permission(s) for a Teleport(s)

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as on the date of issuance of the amended Guidelines on 05.12.2011, would be calculated by applying the networth norms as they existed prior to the issuance of amended guidelines for the permissions already held on that date, and the revised norms as per Para 1.1.2 for the additional Teleport(s).]1

1.2. Period of Permission

1.2.1. Permission shall be granted for a period of 10 years.

1.3. Fee

1.3.1. The applicant will pay an amount of Rs. Ten Thousands per teleport as non-refundable processing fee.

1.3.2. [The applicant company shall pay a permission fee at the rate of Rs. Two lakh per Teleport per annum.

1.3.3. After being held eligible, the applicant Company shall pay the permission fee for the first year before the issuance of permission. The succeeding year’s permission fee will have to be deposited 60 days before such fee becomes due. ]1

1.4. Special Conditions/ Obligations

1.4.1. The company shall Uplink only those TV Channels which are specifically approved or permitted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for Uplinking from India.

1.4.2. The company shall stop Uplinking TV channels whenever permission/approval to such a channel is withdrawn by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

1.4.3. The applicant company shall abide by the general terms and conditions laid down in Para 5 below.

[1.5. Roll Out Obligations for operationalisation of permitted Teleports:-

1.5.1. The applicant company shall operationalise the teleport within one year from the date the permission is granted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

1.5.2. After being held eligible, the applicant company shall also furnish a Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) for Rs 25 lakhs for each teleport before the issuance of permission on the format so specified by the Ministry for fulfilling the rollout obligation stipulated in Para 1.5.1, from any scheduled bank in favour of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. If the teleport is not operationalised even after one year, the permission shall be cancelled and the Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) shall be forfeited.

1.5.3. The requirement of Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) shall also be applicable to a Company which held permission(s) for a Teleport(s) as on the date of issuance of the amended Guidelines on 05.12.2011 and wishes to seek further extension for operationalisation beyond the period already permitted as on that date, for granting extension up to a further period of one year.]1

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2. PERMISSION FOR UPLINKING A NON-NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS TV CHANNEL

[Note: For the purpose of these guidelines, a Non-News & Current Affairs TV channel means a channel which does not have any element of News & Current Affairs in its programme content.]


2.1.1. The applicant company, irrespective of its ownership, equity structure or management control, would be eligible to seek permission.

2.1.2. The Company should have a minimum Net Worth as prescribed below: [ Item

Required Net Worth First TV Channel Rs. 5.00 crore For each additional TV Channel Rs. 2.50 crore

2.1.3. Notwithstanding the provisions contained in Para 2.1.2, the minimum networth requirement for additional Non-News and Current Affairs TV channels of a Company which held permission(s) for TV channels as on the date of issuance of the amended Guidelines as on 05.12.2011, would be calculated by applying the networth norms as they existed prior to the issuance of amended guidelines for the permissions already held on that date, and the revised norms as per Para 2.1.2 for the additional TV channels.

2.1.4. At least one of the persons occupying a top management position in the applicant company should have a minimum 3 years of prior experience in a top management position in a media company (or media companies) operating Non-News and Current Affairs TV channels. The term “top management position” in this context shall mean the Chairperson or Managing Director or Chief Executive Officer or Chief Operating Officer or Chief Technical Officer or Chief Financial Officer of the Company. The channels which were permitted but could not become operational by the date of issuance of the amended guidelines on 05.12.2011 will also be required to fulfill this criteria. ]1



2.3. Fee

2.3.1. The applicant will pay an amount of Rs.Ten thousands per TV Channel as non-refundable processing fee.

2.3.2. [The applicant company shall pay a permission fee at the rate of Rs. Two lakh per Non-News and Current Affairs channel per annum

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2.3.3. After being held eligible, the applicant Company shall pay the permission fee for the first year before the issuance of permission. The succeeding year’s permission fee will have to be deposited 60 days before such fee becomes due.]1


2.4.1. The applicant company shall obtain registration for each channel, in accordance with the procedure laid down under the Downlinking Guidelines notified by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting separately.

2.4.2. The applicant company permitted to uplink shall operationalise the channel within a period of one year from the date the permission is granted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and will abide the Section 2.5 and its sub sections thereof, as given below.

2.4.3. [The company shall ensure compliance of the provisions of Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act 11 of 2007 and the Rules, Guidelines, Notifications issued there under.]2


[2.5 Roll out Obligations for Operationalising permitted Non News and Current Affairs TV Channels

2.5.1 The applicant company shall operationalise the permitted non-News and Current Affairs Television channel within one year from the date the permission is granted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

2.5.2 After being held eligible, the applicant company shall also furnish a Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) for Rs 1 crore for each non-News and Current Affairs TV channel before the issuance of permission on the format so specified by the Ministry for fulfilling the rollout obligation stipulated in Para 2.5.1, from any scheduled bank in favour of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. If the channel is not operationalised even after one year, the permission shall be cancelled and the Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) shall be forfeited.

2.5.3. The requirement of Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) shall also be applicable to a Company which held permission(s) for a non-News and Current Affairs TV channel as on the date of issuance of the amended Guidelines on 05.12.2011 and wishes to seek further extension for operationalisation beyond the period already permitted as on that date, for granting extension up to a further period of one year.]1

3. PERMISSION FOR UPLINKING A NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS TV CHANNEL

[Note: For the purpose of these guidelines, a News & Current Affairs TV channel means a channel which has any element of news & current Affairs in its programme content.]

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3.1.1. [The total direct and indirect foreign investment including portfolio and foreign direct investments into the company shall not exceed 26% at the time of application and during the currency of the permission. The methodology of calculation of the direct and indirect foreign investments would be as per the extant policy of the Government. The Company, permitted to uplink the channel shall certify the continued compliance of this requirement through its Company Secretary, at the end of each financial year. Approval of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) shall be required for any existing or proposed foreign investment in the company.]3

3.1.2. Permission will be granted only in cases where equity held by the largest Indian shareholder is at least 51% of the total equity, excluding the equity held by Public Sector Banks and Public Financial Institutions as defined in Section 4A of the Companies Act, 1956, in the New Entity. The term largest Indian shareholder, used in this clause, will include any or a combination of the following:

(1) In the case of an individual shareholder,

(a) The individual shareholder.

(b) A relative of the shareholder within the meaning of Section 6 of the Companies Act, 1956.

(c) A company/ group of companies in which the individual shareholder/HUF to which he belongs has management and controlling interest.

(2) In the case of an Indian company,

(a) The Indian company

(b) A group of Indian companies under the same management and ownership control.

For the purpose of this Clause, “Indian company” shall be a company, which must have a resident Indian or a relative as defined under Section 6 of the Companies Act, 1956/ HUF, either singly or in combination holding at least 51% of the shares.

Provided that in case of a combination of all or any of the entities mentioned in Sub-Clause (1) and (2) above, each of the parties shall have entered into a legally binding agreement to act as a single unit in managing

3.1.3. [..deleted..]3

3.1.4. The company shall make full disclosure, at the time of application, of Shareholders Agreements, Loan Agreements and such other Agreements that are finalized or are proposed to be entered into. Any subsequent changes in these would be disclosed to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, within 15 days of any changes, having a bearing on the foregoing Agreements.

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3.1.5. It will be obligatory on the part of the company to intimate the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, the changes in Foreign Direct Investment in the company, within 15 days of such change. While effecting changes in the shareholding patterns, it shall ensure its continued compliance to Clause 3.1.1 and 3.1.2 above.

3.1.6. The applicant shall be required to intimate the names and details of all persons, not being resident Indians, who are proposed to be inducted in the Board of Directors of the company.

3.1.7. The company shall be liable to intimate the names and details of any foreigners/ NRIs to be employed/ engaged in the company either as Consultants (or in any other capacity) for more than 60 days in a year, or, as regular employees.

3.1.8. At least 3/4th of the Directors on the Board of Directors of the company and all key Executives and Editorial staff shall be resident Indians.

3.1.9. The representation on the Board of Directors of the company shall as far as possible be proportionate to the shareholding.

3.1.10. All appointments of key personnel (executive and editorial) shall be made by the applicant company without any reference on from any other company, Indian or foreign.

3.1.11. The applicant company must have complete management control, operational independence and control over its resources and assets and must have adequate financial strength for running a news and current affairs TV channel.

3.1.12. CEO of the applicant company, known by any designation, and/ or Head of the channel, shall be a resident India

3.1.13 The Company should have a minimum networth as prescribed below:[

Item Required Networth First News and Current Affairs TV channel

Rs. 20.00 crore

For each additional TV channel Rs. 5.00 crore

3.1.14 Notwithstanding the provisions contained in Para 3.1.13, the minimum networth

requirement for additional News and Current Affairs TV channels of a Company which held permission(s) for TV channels as on the date of issuance of the amended Guidelines as on 05.12.2011, would be calculated by applying the networth norms as they existed prior to the issuance of amended guidelines for the permissions already held on that date, and the revised norms as per Para 3.1.13 for the additional TV channels.

3.1.15 At least one of the persons occupying a top management position in the applicant company should have a minimum 3 years of prior experience in a top management

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position in a media company (or media companies) operating News and Current Affairs TV channels. The term “top management position” in this context shall mean the Chairperson or Managing Director or Chief Executive Officer or Chief Operating Officer or Chief Technical Officer or Chief Financial Officer of the Company. The channels which were permitted but could not become operational by the date of issuance of the amended guidelines on 05.12.2011 will also be required to fulfill this criteria.]1



3.3. Fee

3.3.1. The applicant will pay an amount of Rs. Ten thousands per TV Channel as non-refundable processing fee.

3.3.2. [The applicant company shall pay a permission fee at the rate of Rs. Two lakh per News and Current Affairs TV Channel per annum.

3.3.3. After being held eligible, the applicant Company shall pay the permission fee for the first year before the issuance of permission. The succeeding year’s permission fee will have to be deposited 60 days before such fee becomes due.]1


3.4.1. Permission for usage of facilities/infrastructure for live news/footage collection and transmission, irrespective of the technology used, will be given to only those channels which are uplinked from India. To ensure immediate compliance of this policy in respect of permissions/licences given/to be given for utilization of VSAT/RTTS/Satellite Video Phone and similar other infrastructure, which lends itself for use in uplinking/ point to point transfer of content for broadcast purposes, separate guidelines will be issued by the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology.

3.4.2. The channel/company will ensure that its news and current affairs content provider(s), if any, are accredited with the Press Information Bureau. Such accredited content provider(s) only can use equipment/platform for collection/transmission of news/footage.

3.4.3. The company/channel should ensure that it uses equipment, which is duly authorized and permitted by the competent authority, or its content provider(s), if any, use equipment duly authorized by the competent authority.

3.4.4. It will be obligatory on the part of the company to intimate the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, the changes in Foreign Direct Investment in the company, within 15 days of such change. While effecting changes in the shareholding patterns, it shall ensure its continued compliance to Clause 3.1.1 and 3.1.2 above.

3.4.5. The company/channel will be liable to intimate to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting the details of any foreigners/NRIs employed/engaged by it for a period exceeding 60(sixty) days.

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3.4.6. The applicant company shall abide by the general terms and conditions laid down in Para 5 below as well as Paras 2.4.1 to 2.4.3 above.

[3.5 Roll out Obligations for Operationalising permitted News and Current Affairs TV Channels

3.5.1 The applicant company shall operationalise the permitted News and Current Affairs Television channel within one year from the date the permission is granted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

3.5.2 After being held eligible, the applicant company shall also furnish a Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) for Rs 2 crore for each News and Current Affairs TV channel before the issuance of permission on the format so specified by the Ministry for fulfilling the rollout obligation stipulated in Para 3.5.1, from any scheduled bank in favour of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. If the channel is not operationalised even after one year, the permission shall be cancelled and the Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) shall be forfeited.

3.5.3. The requirement of Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) shall also be applicable to a Company which held permission(s) for a News and Current Affairs TV channel as on the date of issuance of the amended Guidelines on 05.12.2011 and wishes to seek further extension for operationalisation beyond the period already permitted as on that date, for granting extension up to a further period of one year. ]1

4. PERMISSION FOR UPLINKING BY INDIAN NEWS AGENCY


4.1.1. The applicant company should be accredited by Press Information Bureau (PIB).

4.1.2. The applicant company should be 100% owned by Indian, with Indian Management Control.


4.2.1. Period of permission shall be as per WPC license.


4.3.1. The company shall use uplinking for news-gathering and its further distribution to other news agencies/broadcasters only.

4.3.2. The company shall not uplink TV programmes/channels for direct reception by public.


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5. GENERAL TERMS & CONDITIONS

5.1. The company can uplink either in C or Ku Band. Uplinking in C Band would be permitted both to Indian as well as foreign satellites. However, proposals envisaging use of Indian satellites will be accorded preferential treatment. On the other hand, uplinking in Ku Band would be permitted through Indian satellite only, subject to the condition that this permission is not used to run/ operate DTH service without proper license, to which separate guidelines apply. Satellite to be used should have been coordinated with INSAT System.

5.2. The company shall comply with the Programme & Advertising Codes, as laid down in the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 and the Rules framed there under.

5.3. The company shall keep record of the content uplinked for a period of 90 days and produce the same before any agency of the Government, as and when required.

5.4. The company shall furnish such information, as may be required by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, from time to time.

5.5. The company/channel shall provide for the necessary monitoring facility, at its own cost, for monitoring of programmes or content by the representatives of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting or any other Government agency as and when so required.

5.6. The company shall permit the Government agencies to inspect the facilities as and when required.

5.7. The company shall comply with the terms and conditions of Wireless Operational License to be issued by the WPC Wing, Ministry of Communications & IT.

5.8. The Company shall ensure its continued eligibility as applicable through out the period of permission and adhere to all the terms and conditions of the permission, failing which the company shall be liable for penalty as specified in Para 8 below.

5.9. The Government of India, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting shall have the right to suspend the permission of the company for a specified period in public interest or in the interest of national security to prevent its misuse. The company shall immediately comply with any directives issued in this regard.

5.10. It will be obligatory on the part of the company to take prior permission from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting before effecting any change in the CEO/ Board of Directors.

6. PERMISSION FOR USE OF SNG/DSNG EQUIPMENTS IN C BAND AND KU BAND

6.1. The use of SNG/DSNG would be permitted to News and Current Affairs channels uplinked from India for live news/footage collection and point-to-point transmission.

6.2. PIB accredited content provider(s) if any, to the permitted News and Current Affairs channel(s) can use SNG/DSNG for collection/transmission of news/footage.

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6.3. Entertainment channels who are uplinking from their own teleport, can use SNG/DSNG for their approved channels, for transfer of video feeds to the permitted teleport.

6.4. All Foreign channels, permitted entertainment channels uplinked from India and companies/individuals not covered in 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 as above will be required to seek temporary uplinking permission for using SNG/DSNG for any live coverage/footage collection and transmission on case to case basis.

6.5. Only permitted teleport operators and Doordarshan may offer/hire out SNG/DSNG equipments/infrastructures to other broadcasters who are permitted to uplink from India.

6.6. The uplinking should be carried in encrypted mode, so as to be receivable only in closed user group. The signal should only be down linked at the permitted teleport of the licensee and uplinked for broadcasting through permitted satellite through that teleport only.

6.7. Each company/channel desiring to use SNG/DSNG would have to apply to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and get permission before doing the same.

6.8. Uplinking from SNG/DSNG should be in SCPC mode only (only single feed can be uplinked from the SNG/DSNG at a time).

6.9. The channel would also give an undertaking that the feed collected through SNG/DSNG shall conform to Programme and Advertisement Codes.

6.10. The use of SNG/DSNG would be permitted only in those areas/regions/states which are not specifically prohibited by MHA.

6.11. The company would submit the purchase documents of SNG/DSNG terminals and inform Ministry of Information and Broadcasting about placement of these terminals at the various locations.

6.12. Period of Permission:

a) For teleport owners – co-terminus with teleport license.

b) For permitted News and Current Affairs channels – for the period of the Channel permission.

c) For content providers to permitted channels - for the period of the channel permission.

d) For other broadcasters having temporary uplinking permission – for periods as specified in the temporary uplinking permission.

6.13. The company permitted to use SNG/DSNG shall apply to WPC for frequency authorization of WPC. It should be renewed yearly in time and a copy should be submitted to this Ministry by the company every year.

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6.14. The permitted company shall maintain a daily record of the location and the events which have been covered and uplinked by SNG/DSNG terminals and down linked at their main satellite earth station and produce the same before the licensing authority or its authorized representative, which will include officers of Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, as and when required.

6.15. The permitted company shall not enter defence installations.

6.16. The equipment should not be taken in the areas cordoned off from security point of view.

6.17. The company/channel desiring to use SNG/DSNG would give an undertaking that it would be used for live newsgathering and footage collection for captive use only.

6.18. Violations of any of the aforementioned terms and conditions would lead to revocation/cancellation of the permission to use the SNG/DSNG.

6.19. The permitting authority may modify the conditions laid down or incorporate new conditions, as and when considered necessary.

6.20. SNG/DSNG in Ku Band will not be used for DTH operation, directly or indirectly. Any such use would lead to the termination of license/permission.

6.21. Uplinking Dish used for SNG/DSNG operation in Ku Band shall not exceed 2 meters.

7. PERMISSION FOR TEMPORARY UPLINKING

7.1. The use of all equipment/platforms for collection of footage/news by channels uplinked from outside for specific programme(s)/event(s) of temporary duration will be entertained on recommendation from the PIB and permitted on a case to case basis, in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs and other Ministries/Departments concerned.

7.2. Foreign news channels/ agencies may be granted permission up to one year at a time for temporary uplinking from time to time through a pre-designated teleport, subject to the following conditions:

a) The applicant is accredited with the Press Information Bureau, Government of India.

b) The applicant undertakes to conform to the Programme and Advertisement Codes.

c) The applicant has a binding agreement with the relevant teleport for the period ofpermission.

d) The applicant pays a processing fee of Rs. 10,000/- and temporary permission feeof Rs. 50,000/- per year.

The news/footage so uplinked shall be primarily for the usage abroad by the foreignnews agency/ channel and shall not be broadcast in India without downlinkingpermission and registration of the channel.

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8. OFFENCES AND PENALTIES

8.1. In the event of a channel/teleport/SNG/DSNG found to have been/ being used for transmitting/ uplinking any objectionable unauthorized content, messages, or communication inconsistent with public interest or national security or failing to comply with the directions as per para 5.9 above, the permission granted shall be revoked and the company shall be disqualified to hold any such permission for a period of five years, apart from liability for punishment under other applicable laws.

8.2. Subject to the provisions contained in para 8.1 of these guidelines, in the event of a permission holder violating any of the terms and conditions of permission, or any other provisions of the guidelines, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting shall have the right to impose the following penalties:

8.2.1. In the event of first violation, suspension of the permission of the company and prohibition of broadcast/ transmission up to a period of 30 days.

8.2.2. In the event of second violation, suspension of the permission of the company and prohibition of broadcast up to a period of 90 days.

8.2.3. In the event of third violation, revocation of the permission of the company and prohibition of broadcast up to the remaining period of permission.

8.2.4. In the event of failure of the permission holder to comply with the penalties imposed within the prescribed time, revocation of permission and prohibition of broadcast for the remaining period of the permission and disqualification to hold any fresh permission in future for a period of five years.

8.3. In the event of suspension of permission as mention in Para 5.9 or 8.2 above, the permission holder shall continue to discharge its obligations under the Grant of Permission Agreement including the payment of fee.

8.4. In the event of revocation of permission, the fees shall be forfeited.

8.5. All the penalties mentioned above shall be imposed only after giving a written notice to the permission holder.

9. PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING PERMISSION

9.1. The applicant company can apply to the Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, in triplicate, in the prescribed format “Form 1” along with all requisite documents including a demand draft for an amount equal to processing fee wherever prescribed, payable at par at New Delhi, in favour of the Pay & Accounts Officer, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi.

9.2. On the basis of information furnished in the application form, if the applicant is found eligible, its application will be sent for security clearance to the Ministry of Home Affairs and for clearance of satellite use to the Department of Space (wherever required).

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9.3. As soon as these clearances are received, the applicant would be asked to furnish a demand draft for an amount equal to the permission fee and Performance Bank Guarantee as applicable, payable at New Delhi, in favour of Pay & Accounts Officer, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi. Further, the applicant company in respect of Para 1, 2 or 3 above would be required to sign an agreement titled as “Grant of Permission Agreement”, in the format “Form 2”, which is being prescribed separately.

9.4. Thereafter, the Company would be issued a formal permission to enable it to obtain requisite license/ clearances from the WPC Wing, Ministry of Communications & IT or approach a teleport service provider in case of TV channels/ uplinking by a Indian news agency.

9.5. The applicant will pay the licence fee and royalty, as prescribed by WPC Wing from time to time, annually, for the total amount of spectrum assigned to Hub/Teleport station, as per norms & rules of the WPC Wing. Besides, the Hub/Teleport station owner will inform WPC Wing the full technical and operations details of TV channels proposed to be uplinked through his/her Hub/Teleport in prescribed format. (This clause is applicable for teleports/ uplinking by a Indian News Agency.)

[10. RENEWAL OF EXISTING PERMISSIONS

10.1. The existing permission holders as on the date of issuance of the amended Guidelines on 05.12.2011 will continue to be governed by the terms and conditions of permission as they existed prior to the issuance of amendments on 05.12.2011 till the expiry of such permission.

10.2 Renewal of permission will be considered for a period of 10 years at a time, subject to the condition that the channel should not have been found guilty of violating the terms and conditions of permission including violations of the programme and advertisement code on five occasions or more. What would constitute a violation would be determined in consultation with the established self-regulating mechanisms.

10.3 The renewal will also be subject to the permission holder’s acceptance of all of the terms and conditions of permission as the Government may prescribe by way of policy pronouncements from time to time.

10.4 At the time of considering the renewal of permission of the existing permission holders, the eligibility criteria of net worth of the company and experience of the top management will not apply. However, other terms and conditions would be applicable as per modified terms and conditions of the permission.

11. Transfer of Permission of Television Channels

11.1. The permission holder shall not transfer the permission without prior approval of theMinistry of Information and Broadcasting. On a written request from the permission holder, the Ministry shall allow transfer of permission in case of merger/demerger/ amalgamation, or from one Group Company to another provided that such transfer is in

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accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act, and further subject to the fulfillment of following conditions:

(i) The new entities should be eligible as per the eligibility criteria including the net worthand should be security cleared.

(ii) The new entities should undertake to comply with all the terms and conditions ofpermission granted.

12. UPLINKING OF TELEVISION CHANNELS FOR VIEWING ONLY IN FOREIGNCOUNTRIES

12.1 TV channels operating in India and uplinked from India but meant only for foreign viewership are not required to comply with the programme and advertisement code of India. The concerned broadcasters will be required to ensure compliance of the rules and regulations of the target country for which content is being produced and uplinked. However, the uplinked content should not contain anything which is against the sovereignty, integrity and national security of India as well as its relations with friendly countries. For monitoring purposes, these channels will be required to preserve the recordings of the proceedings for at least six months instead of the present stipulation of 3 months.]1

Note (Superscripts):

1- Amended vide Order No. 1501/34/2009-TV(I), Dated 05.12.2011 of the Ministry of I&B

2- Amended in accordance with the provisions of the Sports Broadcasting Signals (MandatorySharing with Prasar Bharati) Act, 2007 and the rules and notifications hereunder.

3- Amended as per extant FDI Policy notified by DIPP.

73

20th September, 2020

Kind attn:

Shri Amit Khare

Secretary,

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting,

Government of India

Room No 655, A Wing Shastri Bhawan New Delhi-110001

Subject: NEWS BROADCASTERS FEDERATION

Dear Sir,

We are writing to you with reference to the media industry body, the News Broadcasters

Federation, the largest membership driven organization of news fraternity, representing

the combined interests of over 60 TV news channels.

The NBF serves as the most-democratic and the largest congregation of national as well

as regional players, representing news broadcasters from almost all languages and parts

of the country, reflecting the true diversity of news broadcasting in the country. Indeed,

it is for the first time that most of the news broadcasters, for the first ever time have a

representation in a professional industry organisation and abide by the self-regulatory

guidelines for the fair and professional conduct striving for the best interest of the news

broadcasting industry and the country.

NBF Professional News Broadcasting Standards Organisation (Self-regulatory)

News Broadcasters Federation operates an independent self-regulatory body upholding

the principles of journalism and freedom of speech and expression as guaranteed by the

Constitution of India, called the NBF Professional News Broadcasting Standards

Organisation (Self-regulatory)- PNBSO that oversees fair reporting of news and

current affairs in our member companies.

The Self-Regulatory Organisation constitutes of nine members: One chairman appointed

from a pool of retired judge, from the Supreme Court of India, four Editorial members

and four eminent citizens. The NBF- PNBSO will meet every three months to review any

complaints filed against member companies.

Annexure R-574


http://newsbroadcastersfederation.com/

• NBF-PNBSO Panel Constituents

1- Hon’ble Mr. Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar (Former Chief Justice of India)-

Chairperson*

2- Mr. Shailesh R Gandhi (Former Information Commissioner at CIC)- Independent

Member

3- Mr. Chintamani Rao (Media Veteran)- Independent Member

4- Mr. Jerir Hussian (Editor-in-Chief, North East Live- Assamese)- Editorial Member

5- Mr. Karthigai Chelvan (Editor-in Chief, Puthiya Thalaimurai TV- Tamil)- Editorial

Member

6- Professor Madhav Nalapat (Editorial Director, NewsX- English; and India News-

Hindi)- Editorial Member

NBF Professional News Broadcasting Standards Organisation (Self-regulatory)-

PNBSO

Vision, mission and values

• Vision: A trusted, thriving, free and responsible press, reinforced by independent,

effective regulation.

• Mission

o To support those who feel wronged by the press.

o To uphold the highest professional standards in the news broadcast sector

o To determine whether standards have been breached and provide redressal

if so.

• Values

o Independent: NBF- PNBSO will carry out its work free from control or interference

by the press, parliament, interest groups or individuals

o Bold: NBF- PNBSO will act without fear or favour

o Fair: NBF- PNBSO will take decisions according to its rules based on the evidence

it has gathered and its actions and sanctions will be proportionate

o Accessible: NBF- PNBSO will make it as easy as possible to access its services and

to engage with it

o Transparent: NBF- PNBSO’s work will be in the public domain, ensuring its actions

and processes are clear and visible, while fulfilling any duty of confidentiality.

75



• Broad Framework on Editorial Guidelines

Members of NBF, who are also signatory to NBF-PNBSO abide by the broad

framework on editorial guidelines as mentioned below-

o Criticism of friendly countries.

o Attack on religion or communities.

o Anything obscene or defamatory.

o Incitement to violence or anything against maintenance of law and order.

o Anything amounting to contempt of Court.

o Aspersion against the integrity of the President, Governors and the

Judiciary.

o Attack on a political party by name.

o Hostile criticism of any State or the Centre.

o Anything showing disrespect to the constitution or advocating change in the

Constitution by violent means (but advocating changes in a constitutional

way should not be debarred).

Note: The Editorial Director/ Editor-in-Chief will be the sole authority to implement and

adhere to the code in their respective channels.

• NBF-PNBSO Complaint Redressal Mechanism

The Complaint Redressal Mechanism escalation matrix is as follows-

o Each channel will have a designated grievance cell for any aggrieved person to

raise complaints. A copy of the complaint should mark to NBF-PNBSO along with

relevant specific violations and proofs/ evidence.

o The panel led by the Chairperson- A retired Supreme Court Judge; and Members

(editorial and independent) of NBF-PNBSO will review the complaint if left

unresolved, and award their final verdict. The panel will meet once in three months

at a specified time and day to hear and resolve the grievances.

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• NBF-PNBSO Outcomes

o In case of any violation, the panel will issue a warning including a channel to

run an apology scroll specifying the date and time- an action to be taken

complied and reported back to NBF-PNBSO within 7 days of the order.

o A repeat violation by the channel/anchor would be penalized with a warning to

run an apology scroll for 2 days with specific date and time; removing the

anchor upto 3 months and/or a financial penalty upto Rs 5L

o Any subsequent or serious violations would attract a financial penalty upto Rs

10L

The biggest discerning factor about the NBF is that The News Broadcasters Federation

led by a Governing Board comprising of the President and four Vice-President(s), elected

from among the members through open, transparent, democratic process. The Governing

Board positions are on a rolling basis for every two years, with no permanent positions.

In view of the large membership and the democratic mechanism set up to address the

complaints received by the NBF-PNBSO, we urge the Honb’le Ministry gives the NBF and

the NBF-PNBSO for immediate recognition and empanelment.

Through this letter we would also like to formally place a request to register our details

and keep us updated on the developments, so that we can work closely for the betterment

of the industry. Kindly add us in all notifications/ advisories/ notes that the MoIB issues

for broadcasters.

Thank you,

For and behalf of

News Broadcasters Federation

S/d- R. Jai Krishna

Secretary-General

77



Please find below the list of our member channels and their company name-

(1) Republic TV (ARG Outlier Media)

(2) Republic Bharat (ARG Outlier Media)

(3) Prag News (A.M. Television)

(4) IBC24 (S.B Multimedia)

(5) TV5 (Shreya Broadcasting)

(6) News Live (Pride East Entertainments)

(7) North East Live (Pride East Entertainments)

(8) Gulistan News (Gulistan TV Network)

(9) JK 24X7 (J K Channel)

(10) Odisha TV (Odisha Television)

(11) NewsX (Direct News)

(12) India News (Information TV)

(13) Twenty Four News (Janapriya Communications)

(14) S Newz (India Cable Net Company)

(15) DY365 News (Brahmaputra Tele Pro)

(16) News Nation (News Nation Network)

(17) Puthiya Thalaimurai TV (New Generation Media Corp)

(18) Dighvijay (VRL Media)

(19) First India Rajasthan (First India News International)

(20) Living India News (BPL Media)

(21) MH1 (MH ONE TV Network Pvt. Ltd.)

78



GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL MECHANISM FOR PROGRAMME CODES

G GRIEVANCES RECEIVED FROM

PUBLIC

NON-actionable matter closed

Member : NBA to address

Addressed by channel: NO further action

Not addressed channel

EMMC to report

No violation-

matter closed

Violation found

Inter-Ministerial Committee

(IMC)

Recommends action to Misnistry

Report called from EMMC

Non-Member – Channel to respond

Or

Member: NBA to respond

Non-Member: channel to

address

SUO MOTO

Actionable

EMMC Scrutiny Committee Report

79

in the supreme court of india civil original … · s. no. particulars page no. 1. further...

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