Mumbai: A complaint filed by JioStar has led to the registration of an FIR, a police raid and the arrest of a cable operator in Madhya Pradesh, marking a significant enforcement action against the alleged unauthorised retransmission of pay television channels.
The FIR was registered on August 1, 2026, at Police Station Shamgarh in Mandsaur district against Riddhi Siddhi Cable Network following a complaint by JioStar over the alleged illegal retransmission of its pay television channels through the operator’s cable network.
According to the complaint and evidence submitted by JioStar, the FIR has been filed under Sections 37, 51, 63, 65 and 65A of the Copyright Act, 1957. The enforcement action also resulted in the arrest of one of the partners of the cable network.
Following the registration of the FIR, police conducted a raid at the cable network’s control room, where they seized equipment allegedly used in the unauthorised distribution of television channels. The seized items included a television, transmitter, optical receivers, DTH equipment, network devices and other broadcasting infrastructure.
The FIR alleges that Riddhi Siddhi Cable Network was illegally retransmitting JioStar television channels by sourcing broadcast feeds through consumer Direct-to-Home (DTH) equipment and redistributing them via its cable network. Electronic evidence submitted with the complaint is stated to have documented the alleged unauthorised retransmission of JioStar channels.
The investigation further indicates that the cable operator had deployed approximately 2,800 set-top boxes across the region and was commercially distributing television services to both residential and commercial subscribers.
Following the enforcement action and subsequent verification, the alleged unauthorised retransmission of JioStar channels has ceased, with no further instances of piracy detected on the network.
The case underscores the ongoing collaboration between broadcasters and law enforcement agencies to combat organised cable piracy and safeguard content distribution rights.
