New Delhi: The fate of Live India TV channel, whose sting operation on alleged sex racket in a school set off a controversy about its genuineness, will be decided on Thursday, with the Government indicating tough action if the channel is found guilty.
Minister of Information and Broadcasting, P R Dasmunsi, on Wednesday said the Government has completed the required exercise of issuing a showcause notice and a decision will be announced — for or against the channel — on Wednesday.
Declining to disclose the nature of the action, the minister said, "When sting operations are done in pubic interest, like exposing cash-for-question scam, Parliament expels the MPs, but when a sting operation is done by a channel to create sensation or increase TRPs, I don't see why the channel should not meet the same fate of those MPs."
The channel was issued a showcause notice on the charge of violation of programme and advertising code prescribed under the Cable Television Network Act.
The 'expose' by the channel had depicted a Delhi school teacher, Uma Khurana, in a sex racket involving students that led to a mob fury and rioting.
However, the genuineness of the 'expose' ran into a serious controversy with evidence that the teacher might have been framed by the channel's reporter Prakash Singh, his accomplice Rashmi Singh and her friend Virender Arora.
The Programme Code in the Act is binding on the channel broadcasters as per uplinking and downlinking guidelines.
The punishment of violation may lead to suspension of licence for a limited period and can go up to revocation of licence, along with the fine.
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