Zakir Naik speech: Channels without licence face ban

In the wake of televangalist Zakir Naik’s alleged “inflammatory” sermons through a private television channel Peace TV, the government on Friday decided to issue an advisory to stop the broadcast of non-licensed channels in the country.

Sources stated that the decision was taken at a high level meeting, chaired by Union information and broadcasting minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, held on Friday evening.

It is understood that the government is likely to seek enforcement of a ban on the telecast of non-licensed channels in the wake of the Zakir Naik controversy.

Naik’s speeches have come under scrutiny of the country’s security establishment following the recent Bangladesh terror attacks and on religious minorities in that country.

Minister of state for I&B Rajyavardhan Rathore said there are reports that channels are being broadcast which are not licensed. “The I&B ministry issues a license to some channels, only those channels are allowed to be broadcast by Multiple System Operators and cable operators. We are issuing advisories to district advisory committees and also to the state monitoring committees that they should clearly observe the cable operators and what they were broadcasting. If any content was being broadcast in violation of the guidelines, action will be taken against them to the extent of confiscation of their entire broadcasting equipment,” Mr Rathore said.

He said that the ministry of home affairs had been asked to keep track of any such broadcast and report to the I&B ministry for appropriate action.

“We discussed any objectionable content that is being broadcast beyond the permission given to broadcasters, including Peace TV,” Mr Rathore said.

Sources stated that the government was planning to circulate a list of licensed channels and ask district collectors and SPs to ensure compliance and stop telecast of unlicensed channels.

It is understood that the government is likely to push for punitive action against those who are found to be in violation and are broadcasting unlicensed channels.

State authorities, district collectors and others are likely to be told to monitor such cable operators.

The I&B ministry, through state police, can seize equipment and take punitive action against cable operators under the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2011 if a cable operator was found violating the programme code. The code stipulates that content beamed by cable operators should not “contain attack on religions or communities or visuals or words contemptuous of religious groups or which promote communal attitudes’’ or “contain anything affecting the integrity of the nation’’.