NEW DELHI: Live India, which ran into controversy after telecasting a sting operation that was subsequently declared as fake, has been issued a showcause notice by the information and broadcasting ministry.

"A notice has been issued to the channel to show cause why its licence and permission to uplink should not be withdrawn for carrying out a fake sting and violating the Programme Code as well as the regulations under the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act 1995," confirms a senior ministry official, speaking to Indiantelevision.com.

"The Act is clear that ‘no person shall transmit or re-transmit through a cable service any programme unless such programme is in conformity with the prescribed Programme Code," the source adds.

Queried about the government notice, Broadcast Initiative Ltd promoter Markand Adhikari, however, refuted it. "I am not aware of any showcause notice issued by the ministry," Adhikari stated.

Meanwhile, Live India is facing the ire of the government on the one hand and other TV news channels on the other, as the incident has come at a time when there is growing confrontation between the I&B Ministry and news broadcasters on the need or relevance of an imposed Content Code.

The channel's reporters Prakash Singh and Rashmi Singh are in police custody, while school teacher Uma Khurana has been granted bail in the fake sting which showed her using her own students for prostitution.

Businessman Virendra Arora, who is said to have wanted to recover money reportedly owed to him by Khurana, now stands accused of having hatched the conspiracy using Singh.