No laughing matter: Delhi HC bans Comedy Central for six days, values stability of “nascent Republic” over Freedom of Speech

The Delhi High Court on Monday upheld a ban imposed on TV channel Comedy Central for broadcasting offensive content. The channel will be taken off air for a period of six days with effect from 00:01 hours on 26th November..A Bench comprising Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw upheld an order passed by a single judge on 24th May, 2013 dismissing the writ petition filed by Viacom 18..On May 17, 2013, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting passed an order prohibiting the transmission or re-transmission of the channel for ten days on any platform throughout India. Section 20(2) and (3) of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 grants the central government the power to do so ‘in public interest’..The channel was earlier banned for four days in May 2013 for broadcasting shows like ‘Stand Up Club’ and ‘Popcorn’, which in the opinion of the Court were,.“not suitable for unrestricted public exhibition and children as the same depicted women as a commodity of sex and appeared to deprave, corrupt and injure the public morality and morals.”.The appellant, Viacom 18 was represented by Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra and advocates Abhishek Malhotra and Angad Singh Dugal, while the State was represented by Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain and advocates Ruchir Mishra, Aastha Jain and Mukesh Kumar Tiwari..The Senior counsel for the appellant argued that the punishment was harsh and disproportionate, quoting similar cases where lighter punishments were given. The Court, however, stated that the time of the broadcast and popularity of the channel were instrumental in justifying the ban..The Court, after referring to case laws on the matter, concluded that,.“….. ours is a nascent republic which is yet to achieve the goal of a stable society and we cannot afford to, in the name of freedom of speech allow anything to be beamed in every home without regard to its impact on society.”.Read the judgment below.