In a significant ruling today, the Supreme Court of India has lifted the ban on the telecast of Malayalam news channel MediaOne, which was imposed by the Union government. The decision came in response to a special leave petition filed by the company running the channel challenging the Kerala High Court's judgment that upheld the decision of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to not renew the broadcast license of the channel for want of security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The bench, comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli, observed that the High Court failed to provide a valid explanation for holding the decision to be valid. The bench directed the Ministry to issue a renewal license for the channel within four weeks, stating that the non-disclosure of reasons for the denial of security clearance by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the disclosure only to the Court in a sealed cover has violated the principles of natural justice and the right to fair proceedings, leaving the company "in the dark to fight out.”
"The state is using the plea of national security to deny the rights of the citizens. This is incompatible with the rule of law. The mere involvement of issues relating to national security will not allow the state to act fairly. The sealed cover procedure adopted has rendered the rights of the petitioner as a dry parchment, and the procedural guarantees to the petitioners have been rendered otiose," the bench observed.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had relied on reports of the channel on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC), criticism of the judiciary, state, etc., to state that it is anti-establishment. However, the court said these are not justifiable grounds to refuse the renewal of its broadcast license. The bench held that non-renewal of license for criticizing the government policies is a restriction on the right to freedom of speech and cannot be imposed.
"The press has a duty to speak truth to power and inform citizens about hard facts. The critical views of the channel against the government policies cannot be termed as anti-establishment. This view presumes that press should always support the govt. An independent press is necessary for a robust democracy. The criticism of the policies of the govt cannot be stretched to mean any of the grounds under Article 19 (2) which can restrict free speech," the apex court said.
The court also stated that national security claims cannot be made with no solid evidence to back them, and if less restrictive means are available, they should not have opted for a sealed cover procedure. "Sealed cover procedure cannot be introduced to cover harms that cannot be remedies by public immunity proceedings. Principles of natural justice may be excluded when interests of national security outweighs. But a blanket immunity from disclosure cannot be granted. Sealed cover procedure infringes the principles of natural justice and open justice," it said.
The Supreme Court passed an interim order on March 15, 2022, allowing the channel to continue its operations pending the final decision, which was confirmed today.