Message on-screen shows Comedy Central has been put off-air
The Supreme Court has stayed a Delhi High Court order directing entertainment channel Comedy Central to go off air for six days. This means that the channel, which has been off air since Wednesday, can now air again.
The High Court had upheld a decision of the centre's information and broadcasting ministry to yank the channel off air because it found some of its content "obscene and vulgar."
The Supreme Court, while staying that decision today, also issued a notice to the Centre on a petition by Viacom 18, which airs the channel in India, challenging provisions of the law that allow the ministry to take action against TV channels.
The High Court had also upheld a fine of Rs 20,000 imposed by the Centre.
The company moved the Supreme Court after a division bench of the High Court dismissed its petition saying, "We have carefully perused the contents of the two programmes to which objection has been taken and having gone through the same, are of the opinion that the matter requires no interference."
The channel has argued that the Centre's decision will cause "irreparable loss and damage" to the channel. It has also claimed that transmission is its fundamental right.
Accepting the recommendation of an Inter-Ministerial Council, the Information & Broadcasting Ministry had last year asked Comedy Central to go off air for for 10 days from May 25 to June 4, for telecasting what it called "offensive" words in its programmes 'Stand Up Club' and 'Popcorn'.
A single judge of the high court had upheld the Centre's decision banning the transmission of the channel.
The channel went off air for four days, but was allowed to broadcast again pending its appeal against the ban. On Monday, the Delhi high court directed the channel to go off air for the remaining six days.