Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, March 15: The private television channels that the government is taking action against for allegedly broadcasting programming that is harmful to national security are given every opportunity to clarify their position, centre informed Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
All new and renewal applications of private TV channels are examined by the Ministry of Home Affairs, according to Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan.
He explained that if a channel’s conduct is determined to be a threat to national security, the MHA refuses the security clearance, which results in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s licence being automatically revoked.
“If it is a matter of national security, there can’t be any compromise,” he said during the Question Hour.
“In some cases, the channel concerned does not come with the renewal application, while in other cases we issue show cause notice and if the reply of that show cause notice is found to be not satisfactory, then only we take action,” he added.
Murugan also mentioned a Supreme Court judgement that backed the administration on national security issues.
He also responded to another supplemental question about action taken against channels supposedly spreading hate and other content harmful to society’s peace and harmony, saying that 159 such cases had been investigated for violating applicable rules and standards.
