'National security claims cannot be made out of thin air': Indian SC quashes centre's ban on MediaOne

India's Supreme Court on Wednesday quashed the central government's ban on the telecast of the Malayalam language channel 'MediaOne', ruling that "national security claims can't be made out of thin hair." A bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud observed that the State can't impose unreasonable restrictions on the press as such an action would have chilling effects on press freedom.

The top court alleged that the State is using national security as a tool to deny citizens remedies that are provided under the law.

"National security claims cannot be made out of thin air, there must be material facts backing it," said the bench.

The bench also set aside a Kerala High Courtorder, which had upheld the Centre's ban on the channel on "security grounds."

Kerala's ruling party and opposition leaders have both welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to quash the ban and said the order gives hope to people fighting to protect democratic principles and the Constitution.

Thiruvananthapuram MPShashi Tharoor took to Twitter and applauded the move. He said: "I welcome the SupremeCourt decision revoking the ban on Malayalam TV channel @MediaOne."

"The judgement robustly affirms press freedom. Shabash!," added the Congress leader. MediaOne editor Pramod Raman also posted a tweet saying, "Thanks to all".

India's apex court said that a channel's critical views on government policies cannot be termed as anti-establishment and that an independent press is necessary for a robust democracy.

It said the "press has a duty to speak truth to power and present citizens with hard facts enabling them to make choices that propel democracy in the right direction. The restriction on freedom of press compels citizens to think along the same tangent."

"Homogenised views on issues that range from socio-economic polity to political ideologies would pose great dangers to democracy," added the bench. It also said that "non-renewal of license for a channel is a restriction on the right to freedom of speech."

The top court, as per PTI, also said that the government's non-disclosure of reasons for the denial of security reasons and disclosure only to the court in sealed cover amounted to a violation of the principles of natural justice. "Sealed cover procedure cannot be introduced to cover harms that cannot be remedied by public immunity proceedings," said the bench.It further said courts should appoint an amicus curiae to assess the claims of confidentiality and assist the court in coming out with a reasoned order.

(With inputs from agencies)

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