New Delhi: The Kerala HC has issued a stay of two days on the suspension order issued by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Monday afternoon. The order barred the telecast of Malayalam news channel MediaOne over security concerns.
MediaOne channel funded by the Jamia-Islamia was issued a suspension order after the Ministry of Home Affairs refused to provide ‘security clearance’ to the channel.
Mediaone TV editor Pramod Raman, in a statement, said that details on the suspension are yet to be sought. “We have started legal action against the ban. After completing the process, the channel would be back to the audience. We are suspending the broadcasting temporarily with the hope that justice will prevail at last,’’ said the statement.
The ban bred grounds for opposition, which struck their criticism on the govt. “ The barring the channel was “akin to interfering with media freedom”, said Kerala Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan. Taking to Twitter, Indian Union Muslim League MP ET Muhammed Basheer said- it is an attempt to silence the “political dissent through outright fascism”. This is not the first time the channel was issued a suspension. Earlier in 2020 the channel was first forced to suspend its broadcast. The centre had claimed the channel portrayed a “biased” coverage of the Delhi riots targeting a specific community, which was a violation of the Cable TV Act.