MUMBAI:The Madras High Court has directed the Crime Branch-CID to probe into the alleged violation of telecasting rules and regulations and broadcast of alleged pirated Tamil films by Raj Television Network Limited.
Interestingly, the directive comes for a writ petition, which was filed by Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC) way back in 1996. The petition sought to prosecute Raj TV Network under the provisions of Cinematograph Act, Cable TV Network (Regulation) Act, the Copy Right Act and Tamil Nadu Exhibition of Films on Television Screen through videocassettes and recording (regulation) Act.
In his order Justice E Padmanabhan, said it was unfortunate that despite the admission of the petition, pending for the past six years, the police had not taken any action. Granting two months time to complete the investigation, he further said that the final decision, if any, should be taken within 12 weeks.
For effective investigation and taking appropriate action, the Court has directed the Crime Branch to be in charge of the enquiry and depending upon the enquiry report, take a decision. It further added that if it was a fit case for proceeding further, the investigating officer should register a criminal case against the TV channel and order for prosecution.
However if no case was made out, the officer has been asked to issue notice to the Council which has also charged the channel with circulating pirated video cassettes through its network.