Delhi HC adjourns ad cap case till 15 July

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Delhi HC adjourns ad cap case till 15 July​

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has once again adjourned the ad cap case, this time till 15 July. The interim order that prevents the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) from taking coercive action against petitioners remains in effect.

The counsels for the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) submitted that the recording CD provided by the regulator has data jumbled up and hence they need more time. The TRAI counsel objected to this saying that the channels are in gross violation of the 12-minute ad cap by airing ads for over 25 minutes.

The last hearing had directed the NBA to file its rejoinder to TRAI’s affidavit within four weeks. Apart from the NBA, a number of other regional broadcasters had challenged TRAI’s ad cap regulation. These included 9X Media, B4U, TV Vision, Sun TV Networks, E 24, Pioneer Channel, Sarthak Entertainment, Kalaignar TV, Eenadu Television and Raj TV Networks. Despite the interim relief, the petitioners have to submit a weekly report on the consumption of commercial airtime in a clock hour.

While the HC had earlier granted interim relief, it had also observed that the cap on advertisements is a ‘reasonable exercise’. The broadcasters had on 17 December challenged the ad cap diktat in the Delhi High Court after the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) had dismissed their appeal in the wake of the Supreme Court judgment that the tribunal does not have jurisdiction over TRAI regulations.


It must be noted that four major broadcast networks—Star India, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, Multi Screen Media and TV18 Group—are complying with the regulation.


Read more at: http://televisionpost.com/television/delhi-hc-adjourns-ad-cap-case-till-15-july/ | TelevisionPost.com