On Thursday, Malayalam channel Jai Hind TV went off air. Viewers who tuned were welcomed with a message on screen, “Due to prohibitory orders issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to Broadcaster, the channel Jai Hind will remain prohibited during 00:01 hrs on 16th Apr’15 to 00:01 hrs on 17th Apr’15”.
The Malayalam news channel, a Congress mouthpiece, received a one day-off-the-air penalty from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, after the channel broadcasted an ‘A’ certified film named “Hai Harithe” at 10 p.m. on August 27th, 2012.
The channel in its explanation to the ministry in June 2013 had claimed that it had wrongly telecasted the movie. What has surprised many is that the action against the channel has come after almost a year. A show cause notice had been issued to the channel in May 2013.
There has been no development in the issue since then, until the ministry issued an order on 7th April, 2015, according to which, the channel has taken a day-off-the-air.
By airing the film, the channel has violated the Rule 6(1) (n) which states that ‘no programme should be carried in the cable service, which contravenes the provisions of the Cinematograph Act, 1952’ and Rule 6(1) (o) which states that ‘no programme should be carried in the cable service, which is not suitable for unrestricted public exhibition’ of Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995.
The Inter-Ministerial Committee observed that the telecast of the ‘A’ certified film was in clear violation of the programme code. “After deliberation on the matter, the IMC reiterated its earlier recommendation (in its meeting held on 05.08.2013) of one day-off-the-air penalty to Jai Hind TV”, reads an order issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on April 7th, 2015.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee President VM Sudheeran is the chairman of the channel. MM Hassan, former minister and official spokesman of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee, holds the office of managing director, while K. P. Mohanan is the CEO.
Channel that did moral policing has been policed
Jai Hind channel had earlier alleged immoral activities at a Kerala café in Calicut by carrying out a sting. The channel kept showing visuals of a young couple kissing (immoral, they labelled it), then visuals of students sitting on tables with what looked like beer mugs and a couple sitting holding an umbrella. The reports led to Yuva Morcha activists vandalizing the Downtown café in Kozhikode.
It was this moral policing attack that gave way to the ‘Kiss of Love’ movement in Kerala , that spread to other states too.
The news channel based in Trivandrum was launched in 2007 by Indian National Congress President Sonia Gandhi. That the channel is Congress leaning is not unknown. It is interesting to note the delay in the proceedings against the channel, while UPA remained in power at the centre and the sudden revival of the issue.