BANGALORE: The ongoing tussle between Udaya channel and eight Bangalore cable operators has taken a new turn as the High Court has reportedly passed an interim order asking the Sun Network's Kannada bouquet to maintain the status quo as on 26 December 2003.
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The status quo is to be maintained between The Sun Network and the eight cable operators only. Notices have been issued to the Union Government, Telecom Regulating Authority of India (TRAI) and the Sun Network by justice P Vishwanath Shetty.

 
As reported earlier, the cable operators have been resisting Udaya TV, along with Udaya News and Ushe going into pay mode from 1 August 2004.

Resorting to protest rallies and dharnas, the cable operators under the Karnataka Cable TV Operators Association (KSTOA) and the Karnataka Cable Operators Welfare Association have been forcing the Sun Network to reverse its decision.

KCTOA spokesperson Ponnacha told Indiantelevision.com, "Eight cable operators comprising Patrick Raja, Ram Prasad Gowda, Narsimaha, Lokesh, Sathya Kumar, K Seethamurthy, Sudesh Kumar and myself had appealed to the High Court on Monday that the TRAI order had been violated by Sun and was harming the Industry. The High Court has passed an interim order directing the Sun Network to maintain the status quo regarding the charges prevailing as on 26 December 2003 as per the tariff order of Trai dated 15 January 2004. This is for six weeks. The next hearing is on 28 September."

Sun Network officials were reportedly not present at the High Court during the hearing. When contacted, the network spokesperson refused to comment on the developments. Udaya TV vice-president Vijay Kumar was unavailable for comment.