Supreme Court says critical views on government policies not anti-establishment

Source: The post is based on the article “Supreme Court says critical views on government policies not anti-establishment” published in The Hindu on 6th April 2023

What is the News?

The Supreme Court has quashed the Union government’s telecast ban on the Malayalam news channel.

What was the case about?

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had refused to renew the broadcast license of the news channel on the ground that the Ministry of Home Affairs had declined (based on IB report) security clearance over alleged links with the Jamaat-e-Islami-Hind (JEIH).

The channel approached the Kerala High Court(HC) against the Centre’s action, which upheld the ban on the channel on the grounds of national security.

The Supreme Court set aside the Kerala HC order and directed that the license be renewed in four weeks’ time.

What were the observations made by the court while delivering the judgment?

Restricts freedom of the press: The government’s refusal to renew the broadcast license of the Malayalam channel amounted to restricting the freedom of the press.

– An independent press is vital for the robust functioning of a democratic republic.

– SC also held that criticism of government policy does not constitute a reasonable restriction under Article 19(2) of the Constitution.

National Security: The court refused to accept the government’s national security argument to deny the license. The court held that national security claims cannot be made out of thin air. There must be material backing such inference.

Sealed cover jurisprudence: The court disapproved the “sealed cover” procedure. It observed that sealed cover proceedings go against the principles of natural justice and restrict the right to fair and reasonable hearing.