TDSAT approves the name Tiranga TV, says no to Saffron and Green in logo

The Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) on Monday allowed Veecon Media and Broadcasting Private Limited to use the name and logo ‘Tiranga TV’ for its news channel..However, the Tiranga TV logo cannot contain the colours Saffron or Green..Veecon, which obtained a licence from the Harvest TV Network for use of the name ‘Harvest TV’ for two years in 2016, had applied to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for a change of name to Tiranga TV when the licence expired. The application for change of name was submitted to the I&B Ministry in 2017..The Ministry took objection to the use of the word ‘Tiranga’ in the name of a channel, on the ground that the same amounted to “colourable imitation of the national flag”. It also said that this was in violation of the Emblem and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950, as well as the Flag Code of 2002..More than a year after submitting the application, Veecon moved the TDSAT in January 2019, stating that the Ministry was yet to process the application. Consequently, the company had been at the receiving end of litigation initiated by Harvest Network for unauthorized use of the name Harvest TV, given that the two-year licence period had lapsed..In February 2019, the I&B Ministry objected to the channel’s use of the name Tiranga TV with the logo containing the colours of the Indian Tricolour. Back then, by way of interim relief, the Tribunal had allowed the channel to continue using the name without the colours of the Indian flag in its logo. The TDSAT had directed the company to submit alternative logos to the Ministry..Upon receipt of alternative choices submitted by Veecon, the Ministry held its ground, objecting to the use of the word ‘Tiranga’. It passed an order in March 2019 directing the channel to run under the name of ‘HTN News’. This order was brought on record by the petitioner in the case and was formally challenged..The petitioner argued that the reasons assigned by the Ministry for rejecting the alternative proposals were unreasonable and untenable. The order of March 2019 was based on an erroneous interpretation of the provisions of the law, the petitioner reasoned..However, the Centre argued that the proposals were rejected because under law, even a colourable imitation of the national flag for any commercial purpose is prohibited. This was countered by the petitioner company, which brought forth various examples of companies using the word ‘Tiranga’ in their names as well as instances of logos of other news channels using the colours of the national flag. On this basis, discrimination and arbitrariness was claimed..The Bench of Chairperson Justice Shiva Kiriti Singh with Justice AK Bhargava agreed with the petitioner’s contention that the name ‘Tiranga’ is not contained in the Schedule of the Act of 1950 and is also not a colourable imitation of any name contained in the Schedule..As regards the logo submitted as the first choice by Veecon, the Tribunal concluded that the word ‘Tiranga’, along with the colours Saffron, White, and Green, are readily associated with the Indian national flag. The Court noted that while the use of these three colours in that order is not per se prohibited, “colourable imitation of certain names and emblems is prohibited.” The order states,.“We find that the word Tiranga and the three colours of the Indian National Flag do conjure an image of the Indian National Flag and the similarities created by such a logo can be treated as a colourable imitation of the national flag.”.To this extent, the TDSAT agreed with the order of the Ministry, which rejected the proposal of a logo that contained the three colours placed diagonally across the logo. However, as regards rejecting other alternative logo options submitted by Veecon which did not contain the three colours, the TDSAT found the order “bad in law.”.Thus, the Tribunal has struck down the order of the Ministry to this extent and allowed Veecon to use the name Tiranga TV for its channel along with a logo without the Saffron and Green colours..Veecon was represented by Senior Counsel Amit Sibal with Advocates Nitin Kala and Jibran Tak, while the Centre was represented by Additional Solicitor General Vikramjit Banerjee and Advocates Payal Chandra, Anindita Barman, and Ashim Sood..Read the Judgment: