Delhi High Court rejects TV Today plea challenging MIB order to run apology scrolls for displaying liquor ads

The Delhi High Court recently rejected a plea filed by TV Today Network (which runs news channels Aaj Tak and India Today) against a Central government order directing the media network to run apology scrolls for displaying advertisements of liquor brands on its news channels [TV Today Network Limited v Union of India & Anr]. .Justice Subramonium Prasad rejected the plea on noting that TV Today had violated Rule 7 (Advertising Code) of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994 by displaying the logo of ‘100 Pipers' while displaying an advertisement for 100 Pipers Music CDs. “The display of the logo of '100 Pipers' would thus appear to be in contravention of that Rule. Since the provisions of Rule 7 has not been complied with, the contention of the learned Counsel for the Petitioner that they had proceeded in good faith on the basis of the CBFC [Central Board of Film Certification] certificate which was submitted by the advertiser cannot be accepted as the Rules do not permit the broadcaster to independently ascertain the veracity of the clip that is provided by the advertiser,” the Court observed..On the issue of running the ‘All Seasons Club Soda’ advertisement, the Court found that the said advertisement was not even certified by the CBFC..The Court passed the order after TV Today approached the High Court challenging a June 14, 2022 order of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB).The MIB had directed TV Today to run an apology scroll in bold, legible font at the bottom of the screen four times a day for three consecutive days between 9 AM and 9 PM for broadcasting the advertisements of 100 Pipers Music CDs and All Seasons Club Soda on its news channels..TV Today argued that as far as the broadcast pertaining to ‘100 Pipers’ was concerned, the clip was broadcast based on the certificate issued by the CBFC, which was provided by the advertiser.With regards to the ‘All Seasons Club Soda’ broadcast, it was stated that the brand name ‘All Seasons’ is commonly used by various kinds of products and not merely by a liquor brand.The counsel argued that the MIB orders must be set aside because the channel was not obligated to compare the clips provided by the advertiser with the one that may have been certified by the CBFC prior to running it. The media channel had acted in good faith, the Court was told further. .Justice Prasad, however, rejected these arguments.“In view of the above, this Court is not inclined to interfere with the Orders dated 14.06.2022, passed by the Competent Authority, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting," the High Court concluded. .Advocates Hrishikesh Baruah, Anurag Mishra, Kumar Kshitij, Radhika Gupta and Saumitra appeared for TV Today Network.The Union of India was represented by Central Government Standing Counsel (CGSC) Apoorv Kurup and advocates Kirti Dadheech, Akhil Hasija and Ojaswa Pathak..[Read Judgment]