At present there is an institutional mechanism through an Inter-Ministerial Committee for redressal of citizens’ grievances regarding violation of Program/Advertising Codes under the Rules.
New Delhi: The Narendra Modi Government at the Center has issued a notification amending the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994 to address the objections/complaints of citizens related to the content broadcast by television channels in accordance with the provisions of the Cable Television Networks Act, 1995. The way has been paved for making a legal arrangement for redressal. At present there is an institutional mechanism through an Inter-Ministerial Committee for redressal of citizens’ grievances regarding violation of Program/Advertising Codes under the Rules. Similarly, various broadcasters have also put in place internal self-regulatory arrangements for redressal of complaints.
Requested to give legal recognition to the concerned associations/bodies,
however, the need was felt to create a statutory system to strengthen the grievance redressal system. Some broadcasters had also requested for legal recognition to their respective associations/bodies. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in its order in WP(C) No. 387 of 2000 in the case ‘Common Cause Vs. Union of India and others’, expressing satisfaction over the existing system of grievance redressal set up by the Central Government, has decided to formalize the grievance redressal system. It was advised to make proper rules for
The @MIB_India has by amending the Cable Television Network Rules, 1994, developed a statutory mechanism to redress citizens' grievances & complaints against programmes of TV Channels.
The @MIB_India has also decided to recognize Statutory Bodies of TV channels under CTN Rules. pic.twitter.com/3Uj1ryz8ob
— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) June 17, 2021
Keeping in view the above background, the rules of cable television network have been amended to pave the way for a legal system which will be transparent and will benefit the citizens. Along with this, self-regulatory bodies of broadcasters will be registered with the central government. At present there are over 900 television channels which have been permitted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, all of which are required to adhere to the Program and Advertising Code as prescribed under the Cable Television Networks Rules. The above notification is significant as it has paved the way for a strong institutional mechanism for redressal of grievances by placing accountability and responsibility on the broadcasters and their self-regulatory bodies. -input PIB
