MUMBAI: Chhattisgarh has become the newest addition to the list of stayed states allowed extension by the judiciary for the Phase III deadline of Digital Addressable System (DAS).

The Chhattisgarh High Court, hearing the petition filed by Gentle Entertainment Private Limited, announced a two-month extension to complete the seeding process. The court ordered stakeholders to complete the proceedings in two months and ordered that during the process cable connections should not be discontinued.

"The court's main concern was shortage of set top boxes and the discomfort of common people. And that is why the honourable court decided to allow the extension," a source present in the court tells Indiantelevision.com.

The petition filed by Gentle Entertainment said, "Due to the shortage of STBs in the global market, and high demand here in India it is becoming impossible to have the adequate supply. To meet the necessary demand it will take at least two months more and hence we request the esteemed court to allow an extension of two months." 

"The question that one should ask now is, when the deadline was announced a year back why the process started so late. Are we trying to say that twelve months was not enough and we need fourteen? This leaves a bad impression on those who followed the deadline. Will the government compensate those who followed the deadline and executed things on time?" asked a senior executive from the cable fraternity.   

As was reported earlier by this website, at present, the implementation remains stayed for varying periods in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra, Orissa, Sikkim, and Telangana, apart from Tamil Nadu where prolonged legal cases have been pending since Phase I. The original deadline for DAS Phase III deadline was that of 31 December, 2015.

Moreover, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry is now planning to move the Supreme Court to club the various orders in different High Courts, which ordered extension of DAS Phase III.