ESPN can face criminal prosecution: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court today said global sports broadcaster ESPN can face criminal prosecution if it fails to comply with broadcast regulator TRAI's directions on tariffs charged from DTH operators for its channels.
    
A single-member bench of Justice S Muralidhar granted ESPN two days to file its amended reference interconnect offer (RIO) before the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and fixed the matter for further hearing on Friday.
    
The court took exception to ESPN's failure to comply with the assurance it gave the court on November 25, 2008, to follow TRAI's directions.
    
The court had stayed criminal proceedings against ESPN India along with its Managing Director R C Venkatiesh and five others for not complying with the directions laid by sectoral regulator TRAI over channel pricing for DTH sectors.
    
"The order of the court has to be complied at any cost ... The stay order on the criminal prosecution was granted on the condition that you would comply with the regulator's order but your last communication did not say anything on it," the court said.
    
ESPN  tried to defend itself saying it had complied with the order.
    
The court, however, was not satisfied with ESPN's position and directed it to submit the RIO before TRAI by January 16.
    
The court passed the order on a petition filed by TRAI seeking to vacate the stay on criminal proceedings against the broadcaster saying that it failed to comply the order passed by the court.