Soni brings illegal channels to notice of home minister

NEW DELHI - With reports of some cable operators showing illegal channels, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni Friday said she has written to Home Minister P. Chidambaram and the chief ministers to take requisite action in this regard.

“I have written to the home minister and chief ministers of the states (in which such channels are shown), Soni told reporters when asked about cable operators beaming non-licensed TV channels into Indian households.

Soni wrote to Chidambaram around two weeks ago as channels seeking to broadcast in India also have to get security clearance from the home ministry.

Some of these channels, such as Peace TV, ARY Q TV, TV Maldives and Saudi TV, are exclusively focused on Islamic teachings.

None of these channels are permitted to broadcast in India, but they are being illegally downlinked by some cable operators, reportedly in league with broadcasters, in violation of Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act.

According to the guidelines laid down by the information and broadcasting ministry, all channels are required to obtain downlinking permission from the ministry to beam inside the country.

Peace Urdu TV, promoted by Islamic Research Foundation, is being beamed by many cable operators in Delhi. It is being uplinked from Dubai and illegally downlinked by cable operators.

Pakistan-based ARY Q TV, popularly known as Quran TV, is also illegally shown by cable operators in Delhi and other northern States.