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The high court here on Thursday allowed Sun Television Network (Sun TV)’s radio channels to participate in the FM radio phase-III channel auction on Monday.
Earlier, the Union home ministry had denied a security clearance to these radio channels, owing to which they couldn’t participate in the previous auction. Sun Group, along with two of its FM companies, had challenged the ministry’s decision at the high court.
On Thursday, the Sun TV stock closed at Rs 273.9 on the BSE, up six per cent.
Two days ago, judge M Sathyanarayanan allowed writ petitions in this regard. On Thursday, he allowed the companies to participate in the auction, adding the result of the auction should be produced before the court in a sealed cover. Lawyers could not immediately clarify whether all the results had to be produced before the court or only that related to Sun Group.
The final verdict on the matter would be subject to results of the petitions pending before the court, lawyers said. Appearing for Sun Group, senior counsel P S Raman said three group companies had filed petitions before the court and sought interim approval to participate in the auction.
“The court has come to a prime facie view that mere pendency of a criminal case might not operate as a disqualification case unless they are convicted. The court has further held that for several years, the companies have been running the business without any complaint or violation of a licence condition and, therefore, denying them the right to participate in the auction at this juncture will be inappropriate,” said Raman.
The court also relied upon the opinion of the attorney general, he added. Sun Group runs 45 FM channels across the country. The company had said absence of the group’s FM subsidiaries from the auction would mean the sum of Rs 350 crore that it had allocated for bids of fresh licences would be left idle.
In the petition, the company had stated the impugned order of the ministry was, on the face of it, illegal, arbitrary, discriminatory, an abuse of law, beyond the powers of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, unconstitutional and violated fundamental rights.
Sun TV also said all the three reasons cited for denial of a security clearance in the impugned order pertained to cases that either at the level of a first information report or that of a charge sheet. The company, it said, wasn’t an accused in any of the three cases; a director alone was allegedly involved in first two cases.
Addressing the court, Raman said when Reliance Broadcasting, which was also facing various charges, had been allowed to participate in the auction, there was no reason why Sun Group shouldn’t be allowed.
