HC to hear writ petition seeking ban on Indian TV channels

The High Court is set to hear a writ petition seeking a ban on the broadcast of all Indian TV channels in Bangladesh.

The bench of Justice Fatema Najib and Justice Sikder Mahmudur Razi passed the order on Tuesday (December 3). The High Court bench later set Wednesday (December 4) for the hearing on the writ petition.

Supreme Court lawyer Syeda Shaheen Ara Laili filed the public interest litigation on Monday, with Advocate Eklas Uddin Bhuiyan representing the petitioner.

The information ministry secretary, the home ministry secretary, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) chairman, the Bangladesh Bank governor, the Bangladesh Television director general, and the inspector general of police (IGP) have been made defendants in the writ.

Advocate Eklas Uddin Bhuiyan said that various Indian TV channels are allegedly violating provisions of the Cable Television Network Management Act, 2006, specifically Sections 19 and 20. The petition seeks enforcement of these provisions to halt the broadcast of the channels.