Editors guild criticises 24-hour ban on NDTV India

The news channel said that It is shocking that NDTV has been singled out for its Pathankot terror attack coverage

Media on Friday criticised the central government for telling NDTV India to go off air for 24 hours. Editors Guild of India (EGI) and News Broadcasters Association (NBA) condemned the information and broadcasting ministry's order that accused the television news channel of divulging "strategically sensitive" information on Pathankot terrorist attacks that took place in January.

A letter dated November 2 (Wednesday) was served to the news channel, asking it to go off air from midnight of November 9 (Wednesday) till midnight of November 10 (Thursday). The letter said that an inter-ministerial committee was of opinion that the channel's coverage had revealed the location and other valuable details related to the attack.

"The decision to take the channel off air for a day is a direct violation of the freedom of the media and, therefore, the citizens of India, and amounts to harsh censorship imposed by the government reminiscent of the Emergency," EGI said. A state of emergency was imposed in India for 21 months, from June 1975 to March 1977, by then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

NBA said, "We are deeply concerned with the decision  to prohibit the transmission or re-transmission of NDTV India for one day on any platform throughout India."

NDTV on Friday said it had received the order.

"It is shocking that NDTV has been singled out in this manner," the channel said.

NBA said, "It is surprising to note that NDTV India has been singled out by the ministry, when the rest of the media also did cover the terrorist attack and all such reports were available in the public domain. The ministry should have seen it from the prism of freedom of the media, which is guaranteed in the constitution, and not gone strictly by the regulations under the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2011."

EGI said that the order "to impose a blackout has seen the central government entrust itself with the power to intervene in the functioning of the media and take arbitrary punitive action as and when it does not agree with the coverage. There are various legal remedies available to both a citizen and a state in the court of law to have action taken for any irresponsible media coverage. Imposing a ban, without resorting to judicial intervention or oversight, violates the fundamental principles of freedom and justice. EGI calls for an immediate withdrawal of the order."