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NEW DELHI: Till date Rs 79.77 million has accrued to the government as licence fee from FM radio broadcasters.
Bank guarantees of Rs 19 million in respect of three non-metro stations of Bhopal, Indore and Vishakapatnam of Vertex Broadcasting Company Ltd had been encashed, according to government data. Though Vertex had filed a writ petition against it in the New Delhi High Court, it was dismissed.
The bank guarantees were encashed as Vertex, along with Entertainment Network India Ltd for Hyderabad and Lucknow and Music Broadcast Pvt Ltd (to which Star supplies content) for Nagpur and Patna had not deposited the balance of the first year‘s licence fee within the due date.
While Vertex‘s case was dismissed, Entertainment Network and Music Broadcast‘s got a stay against encashment of bank guarantees in respect of Hyderabad, Lucknow and Nagpur and Patna, respectively. The reprieve had come from the Mumbai high court, the government data has pointed out.
