Digicable gets relief from Bombay HCin licence cancellation case

[Dinesh jain]

MUMBAI: Jagjit Singh Kohli-promoted Digicable
Network can heave a sigh of relief as the
Bombay High Court has granted relief to the
multi-system operator (MSO) by staying the
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s (MIB)
order cancelling its permanent registration.
Digicable, which had challenged the MIB order
on 13 September, had earlier got an ad interim
stay against the order till 6 October. When the
matter came up for hearing, the HC extended the
stay for four more weeks and posted the matter
for hearing on 5 November. The case was
adjourned as the MIB counsel had sought four
weeks’ time to file replies in the matter.
“We have got a stay order from Bombay High
Court on the MIB’s cancellation order. The case
has been adjourned to 5 November,” Digicable
Network MD and CEO Jagjit Singh Kohli told
TelevisionPost.com.
The MSO had challenged the basis on which the
security clearance was denied by the Ministry of
Home Affairs (MHA), which is one of the
respondents in the matter.
The MIB had on 3 September cancelled
Digicable’s permanent and provisional
registration for digital addressable system (DAS)
Phase I and II areas owing to denial of security
clearance by the MHA.
The MIB had granted permanent registration to
the MSO for NCT of Delhi, Municipal Council of
Greater Mumbai and Kolkata on 6 March 2013,
as well as provisional registration for Phase II
cites, on 28 March 2013.
Earlier in July, the ministry had revoked the
registration of Digicable’s Kolkata joint venture
DigiCablecomm Services for the same reason.
The MSO, however, got a stay order from the
Calcutta High Court on 31 July which was
subsequently extended till 31 October.
Pune-based Intermedia Cable Communications
(ICC), Kalanithi Maran’s Kal Cables and Punjab’s
Godfather Communications had earlier managed
to get stay on the MIB’s cancellation orders.

Digicable gets relief from Bombay HC in licence cancellation case | TelevisionPost.com