Its Bollywood sting may have grabbed all the headlines but it’s India TV’s purported sneak shots of three former MPs and a sitting Member that has prompted the government to serve a show-cause notice on the channel.
The notice, served two days ago, seeks an explanation from the channel for airing the programme Bhaiya Bhole, which was found to be offensive and obscene, said officials of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.
"The operation on the MPs was also found to be unsuitable for unrestricted viewing," officials said.
Telecast on February 27, the programme featured former MPs, Shish Ram Singh Ravi, Nawal Kishore Rai and Anwar Ul Haq, and sitting RJD Member Ubaidullah purportedly in compromising situations.
India TV chairman, Rajat Sharma, confirmed that he had received the notice. "I have submitted the reply for the consideration of the Ministry," Sharma told The Indian Express.
The Ministry had served the notice under the Cable Regulation Act and the Uplinking Guidelines for news channels, asking why the channel’s licence should not be revoked.
The notice comes in the wake of a case filed in the Patiala House Courts by one of the former MPs featured in the programme, Shish Ram Singh Ravi, who has demanded a forensic investigation into the tape. At the time of telecast, Sharma had defended the programme by defining it as new-age journalism’’.
The Programme and Advertising Code for entertainment channels stipulates that channels will not telecast programmes that offend good taste or decency or contain half-truths and anything false, obscene, defamatory and suggestive. Uplinking guidelines state that news channels have to provide necessary monitoring facility at their own cost for monitoring of programme or content by a Ministry representative.
