I&B Ministry Takes News Channel 'MediaOne' Off Air, HC Temporarily Defers Order

The suspension comes after the Ministry of Home Affairs refused to provide 'security clearance' to the channel.

The Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry on Monday, 31 December, suspended the broadcast of Malayalam news channel MediaOne, citing 'security reasons.'

(Photo: The Quint)

The Kerala High Court has deferred the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's order from Monday, 31 January, which had suspended the broadcast of Malayalam news channel 'MediaOne.' MediaOne stopped broadcast at 12 noon on Monday.

The channel came back on air at 7 pm, after the HC issued the deference order. The I&B order is deferred till 2 February, the day the case is posted for hearing.

The ministry had ordered the suspension citing 'security reasons.' As per the order, a copy of which is with The Quint, which was issued on 31 January, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had cancelled the "security clearance" of the channel.

"The security clearance is based on security parameters of the MHA," the order read. However, the order has not clarified what these parameters were.

The order was addressed to Madhyamam Broadcasting Limited, the parent company of MediaOne. The group is owned by Jamaat-e-Islami.

Speaking to The Quint, a source in the channel, had earlier said, "Our recent broadcast was not nothing out of the ordinary. The I&B has not given any clear reason for asking us to discontinue operations."

This is not the first time that the news channel was directed to stop its broadcast. In 2020, the channel was first forced to suspend its broadcast for its extensive coverage of the Delhi riots.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

'MediaOne' Editor Issues Note to Viewers

On Monday, editor of Media One, Pramod Raman, penned a note to the viewers stating:

"MediaOne has initiated legal recourse against the order. Once this (legal measure) comes to a conclusion, we will come back to our dear viewers. We are stopping the broadcast temporarily with the hope that we will get justice."

Parmod Raman, Editor MediaOne

He further stated, "Dear viewers, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has once again stopped the broadcast of MediaOne. They have cited security reasons. The central government has not given further details on the same."

As per the order, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had issued a showcause notice to the channel on 1 January. The channel had responded on 19 January. The ministry, however, issued the order disallowing operations of the channel on 31 January.

In 2020, along with MediaOne, Malayalam news channel Asianet's broadcast was also stopped.

(This story will be updated with more details.)

High Court to Hear Matter on 2 February

The Kerala High Court while deferring the I&B order, said that the writ will be posted for hearing on 2 February.

The legal counsel of Madhyamam Private Limited had stated that while a showcause order was issued earlier too, the explanation given by the company was accepted then. In this case, I&B does not seem to have found the explanation satisfactory.

Meanwhile, Additional Solicitor General of India appearing for I&B had told the court that interim relief should not be given to the channel because the matter is related to "national security."