Indian Supreme Court ends state control of the airwaves

[rishab@dxm.ernet.in]

The Indian Supreme Court yesterday (9th February, 1995) directed the 
government to create an independent autonomous regulatory body for the 
airwaves (like the US FCC) and end the state monopoly on broadcasting and 
satellite uplinks.

The judges took an interesting position that the "GREATER IMPACT" OF 
ELECTRONIC MEDIA and its "wider range of circulation of information" as 
opposed to the press, CANNOT BE USED TO RESTRICT or deny THE RIGHT TO FREE 
EXPRESSION. This may have important consequences, for all over the world, 
including in the US and India, the electronic media is denied freedoms 
allowed to the press with the excuse that it's somehow different.

The three-judge bench, comprising of Justices PB Sawant, S Mohan and BP Jeevan
Reddy, made the ruling after an government appeal against a previous ruling 
by the Calcutta High Court. The Calcutta High Court had earlier upheld the 
right to telecast as fundamental, which would theoretically prevent any 
regulation or censorship whatsoever. The consensual Supreme Court judgement,
while denying the government's power of monopoly, upheld its right to subject 
the electronic media to regulation and censorship. 

However, Justice Reddy, in his separate ruling did not mention censorship.
He pointed out that the century-old Indian Telegraph Act of 1885, which has
been ingeniously extrapolated to support the government's monopoly over 
electronic media and right to 'licence' data networks, was "wholly inadequate
and unsuited for" electronic media, and said that Parliament should enact
new laws to govern such media.

Unfortunately the Supreme Court has no powers to legislate, and new laws have
a habit (as seen with the Digital Telephony Bill in the US) of increasing,
rather than decreasing, government authority. The explicit statement that
the electronic media should not be more restricted than the press will, 
hopefully, prevent that.

The legal battle started with the Doordarshan, the state TV monopoly, 
objecting to the Cricket Association of Bengal's contract with Trans World
International granting the latter worldwide broadcasting rights to a cricket
tournament. Doordarshan used the 1885 Act to prevent TWI from uplinking to
satellite, till the courts intervened.


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Rishab Aiyer Ghosh          rishab@dxm.ernet.in           rishab@arbornet.org
Vox +91 11 6853410 Voxmail 3760335       H 34C Saket, New Delhi 110017, INDIA