The plea moved by Malayalam news channel MediaOne against the single bench order which upheld the Information & Broadcasting Ministry’s decision not to renew the channel’s broadcast license was dismissed by the Division Bench of Kerala High Court on Wednesday. Kerala HC while dismissing the plea stated that national security is of extreme importance for the smooth functioning of the country.
The HC division bench while dismissing the plea after perusing the sealed files submitted by the Central government said that it was convinced that there were clear and substantial indications affecting the public order and security of the state and that national security is of extreme importance for the smooth functioning of the country.
“It is true that the nature, impact, gravity and depth of the issue is not discernible from the files. But, at the same time, there are clear and significant indications impacting the public order and security of the State. Since it is a confidential and sensitive file maintained by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Union of India, we are not expressing anything further in the interest of national security, public order and other aspects concerning the administration of the nation,” the division bench said.
The Court further stated that the files concerning the uplinking/downlinking of ‘Media One Life’ and ‘Media One Global has exposed that the parent company Madhyamam Broadcasting Ltd is linked with some disagreeable forces which are of security threat to the state and despite the existing issue, uplinking/downlinking permission were granted to MediaOne. When the application for the renewal was submitted in 2021, it was understood by the authority that security threats existed. Reportedly, the Intelligence Bureau has also received serious reports against Madhyam Broadcasting Ltd and the Managing Director.
