Channel ban row: SC to hear NDTV's plea on December 5

The Supreme Court on Tuesday decided to hear next month that is, December the petitions filed by NDTV challenging the government's direction to its Hindi news channel NDTV India to go off air for a day. The decision has now been put on hold.

The apex court decided to post the matter on December 5 after NDTV's counsel and senior advocate Fali S Nariman and Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said there was no real urgency as the decision to ban the transmission on November 9 has been put on hold by the government.

A bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and N V Ramana was told by the Attorney General that NDTV will be given a hearing by the inter-ministerial committee before whom it has made a representation for a review of the decision directing NDTV India to go off the air for allegedly violating the telecast norms during the Pathakot terror incident.

NDTV has challenged the constitutional validity of the provision of the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Actwhich was attracted against it.

The government had on Monday decided to put on hold its decision after the top brass of the NDTV had met Information and Broadcasting (I&B) minister M Venkaiah Naidu.