Judicial Guidance
On 31 August 2006 the Bombay High Court ordered broadcasters to abide by the Cable Television Network Act of 1995, in the public interest. A division bench (composed of Justices R. M. Lodha and S. A. Bubbey) heard a PIL filed by Professor Pratibha Nathani (of St. Xavier's College) alleging that films without certification by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC)—allowing "free public exhibition"—were being shown on cable channels. Such films should not be shown, and action should be taken against those running such content on their channels. On 23 August, the court had permitted cable operators and channels to screen only "U"- and "U/A"-certified films.
Before that order police had taken action against multi-system operators, seizing their decoders so they could not telecast certain channels. Assistant Commissioner of Police Sanjay Apranti told the court that they did not have a problem if the channels provided the cable operators with new decoders. Zee Entertainment Enterprises and the STAR network declared in writing that they would abide by the Act. The court also directed seven channels—STAR Movies, STAR One, STAR Gold, HBO, ZEE Movies, AXN and Sony Max—to furnish police with a list of all films they planned to screen.
Read more about this topic: Public-interest Litigation (India)
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