UK's ad watchdog raps Indian channel
Press Trust of India
Thursday, April 24, 2008, (London)
Britain's advertising watchdog has rapped an Indian channel for telecasting an advertisement that breached the standards code by promoting the occult, psychic practices and exorcism.
The Doordarshan-India channel was launched in the UK in March 2007 in association with Rayat TV, which describes itself as being "part of the diverse Rayat Group, which has interests in India and the UK in education, travel, retail and media".
The advert on DD-India channel in Hindi said that Pandit Bharatraj Shastri was an expert in "palmistry, birth kundali (horoscopes), vastu expert (lifestyle expert), marriage life, marriage of your choice, trouble in business, dissatisfied at work, affect of black magic, family problems, whatever the problem".
The on-screen text mentioned a phone number over background graphics of a palm, Lord Ganesh, the moon, the earth and horoscope and face-reading symbols.
DD-India added a disclaimer at the end of the advertisement stating, "Rayat Television Enterprises Ltd does not take any responsibility & liability for any advice given, nor does it necessarily subscribe to its views."
The monitoring staff of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) challenged whether the advert promoted an unacceptable category as defined by the advertising standards code in elation to the occult, psychic practices and exorcism.