The Delhi High Court on June 24, ordered 15 multi-system operators to restore the transmissions of news channels – 10TV, Saakshi TV, NTV and TV9 Telugu. These news channels had been taken off air on June 6 in Andhra Pradesh.
The National Broadcaster’s federation (NBF) in a press release said that the order passed by the Court reinforces the fundamental principles of freedom of speech and expression.
TV9 had earlier informed the court that the disconnection was illegal and in violation of the interconnection agreement between distribution companies, according to the TRAI’s rules.
The news of the blackout of the new channels in Andhra Pradesh came on the day of the election results. This raised concerns of press freedom. Reports suggested that it was political pressure on all cable operators that caused the blackout due the new leadership in Andhra Pradesh.
The news channels were removed from around 62 lakh boxes.