The Supreme Court will, on Thursday, March 10, hear the appeal filed by Malayalam news channel MediaOne against the Kerala High Court order upholding the government’s decision to not renew its broadcasting licence on the grounds of “national security and public order”.Appearing for Madhyamam Broadcasting Limited, which owns MediaOne TV channel, senior advocate Dushyant Dave submitted that the channel was shutdown on the basis of some secret files from the Home Ministry. “It’s too serious a matter relating to right to information and freedom of press. The Home Ministry and the court justified it behind our back,” Dave stated in the special leave petition. The channel has been broadcasting for 11 years and they have more than 350 employees.MediaOne approached the Supreme Court on March 2, after the Kerala High Court had dismissed the appeal. In its appeal, the company contended that the reason of ‘national security’ was only a ruse and without any basis. It had also argued that no fresh security clearance was required under the relevant provisions of the uplinking and downlinking guidelines for renewal of license.
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