MONOPOLY ON AIR & TV CHALLENGED

Summary

This newspaper report describes a Bombay High Court petition challenging the Government’s monopoly over radio and television broadcasting through All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan. Filed by MP Minoo Masani and former Director General of AIR P. C. Chatterjee, the petition argues that the broadcasting restrictions violate Article 19(1)(A) of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression.

The petitioners contend that the Government has no legislative authority to maintain a monopoly over radio and television, and that the arrangement rests only on an administrative order that is therefore “null and void in law.” They ask the court not only to permit an independent radio and television station, but also to declare the Government monopoly ultra vires the Constitution. The report says the Union Government rejected an earlier application by Masani and Chatterjee to establish an independent radio and television broadcasting station with medium-power transmitters, and notes the petitioners’ reliance on studies by the Indian Liberal Group and the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom.

Key points

• Minoo Masani and P. C. Chatterjee filed a petition in the Bombay High Court challenging the Government broadcasting monopoly.
• The petition argues that restrictions on AIR and Doordarshan violate Article 19(1)(A), the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression.
• The petitioners claim that no legislation authorises the Government to monopolise radio and television broadcasting.
• They argue that the monopoly was established through an administrative fiat and is therefore legally invalid.
• The petition seeks permission to establish an independent radio and television station and a declaration that the Government monopoly is unconstitutional.
• The petitioners had previously sought approval for an independent station using medium-power transmitters, but the Union Government rejected their application.
• The report says the petitioners cite studies by the Indian Liberal Group and the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom concerning the news broadcast by AIR and Doordarshan.