MUMBAI: The apex court of India has adjourned Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy’s plea on national security that challenged Sun TV being allowed to participate in FM Radio auction.
SC has asked the central government to give Swamy the amended National Security Policy (NSP) in a week. Swamy had sought cancellation of Phase-3 licence granted to Sun TV's Red FM India. A bench comprising chief justice of India JS Khehar and Justice DY Chandrachud directed the government counsel to provide Swamy the new NSP.
Swamy had stated in the plea that ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) had, despite the opposition of home ministry, favoured Sun TV by allowing it to participate in FM Radio auction citing CBI and Enforcement Directorate cases against the main Sun TV promoter Kalanithi Maran in Aircel-Maxis case, Indian Legal Alive reported.
Swamy has filed a petition seeking consistent and uniform policy on national security. It contented that national security should be bereft from arbitrariness. At the same time, he said it should not be contradictory in nature.
On 7 July, additional solicitor-general Rana Mukherjee filed in the apex court in a sealed cover a revised policy on national security. Swamy submitted a letter written by union minister Arun Jaitley and former attorney-general of India to the government.
The court read those letters and asked the government to provide Swamy a copy of the revised policy. The court will resume the hearing the case after a week.
Questioning the maintainability of Swamy's petition, the government counsel also said the NSP was framed in June 2015, and amended in December 2015, Live Law reported.
According to the Constitution, Swamy argued, only the home ministry had the power to take a decision on national security and the MIB should not interfere. He alleged that the MIB's decisions were arbitrary and the licence to any TV or radio should be cancelled on grounds of national security.
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