ARY News restoration: SHC issues written order, seeks compliance report

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday issued the written order regarding the restoration of the ARY News transmission and sought a compliance report from the parties within two days.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) stated in its four-page written order that the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has the power to take disciplinary action against those creating hurdles in the transmission of the television channels.

The court directed that the non-compliance of action against the responsible cable orders will be considered a constitutional violation.

The SHC issued the written order following the contempt of court petition against the non-compliance of the court order regarding the restoration of ARY News transmission. The contempt of court petition was filed by ARY Communications against the PEMRA chairman, secretary of information and cable operators.

READ: COURT TO SUMMON PEMRA CHAIRMAN IF ARY NEWS NOT RESTORED ON CABLE

The court ordered the said parties including the PEMRA chairman, secretary information and cable operators to submit a compliance report within two days in light of the Supreme Court (SC) verdict given in 2010.

The SC verdict was presented to the SHC by ARY News lawyer Abid Zuberi which was later included in the written order of the high court. The top court’s verdict determined the rights of the broadcaster, PEMRA, cable operators and subscribers.

READ: ARY NEWS TRANSMISSION: ‘CABLE OPERATORS, PEMRA TO FACE ACTION’ FOR DEFYING SHC ORDER

It stated that the transmission of any channel will never be suspended except for the occurrence of a natural disaster.

The court stated in its verdict that the cable operators were constitutionally, morally and financially bound to ensure the uninterrupted transmission of the television channels, whereas, PEMRA was responsible to safeguard the rights of the channels and their subscribers. The cable operators could not create hurdles in the transmission of any channel, it added.

The SHC stated that the apex court had ordered the PEMRA chairman to personally monitor such cases besides directing the top official to submit the compliance report.

It added that the PEMRA chairman, secretary of information and cable operators will appear before the court on August 24 if they failed to submit a compliance report.