I&B Ministry
I&B ministry stops broadcast and distribution of Mangalam and Whistle TV
Mumbai: The ministry of information and broadcasting vide its order dated 26 October whereby the broadcast of the channels Mangalam and Whistle TV permitted M/s. G.N. Infomedia is prohibited for a period of 30 days w.e.f under the extant policy guidelines for downlinking of private satellite TV channels in India, 2011.
According to Rule 6(6) of the Cable Television Network Rules 1994, no cable operator shall carry or include in his cable service any television broadcast or channel that has not been registered by the central government for viewing within the territory of India.
In a letter dated, 27 October 2010, MIB granted permission to M/S. GN Infomedia to uplink and downlink a news & current affairs TV channel, namely ‘Mangalam’ and a non-news and current affairs TV channel, namely ‘Whistle TV’ for a period of 10 years. The permission granted to G. N. Infomedia has already expired on 26 October 2020.
“In light of the foregoing, all MSOs/LCOs are directed not to carry the above-mentioned channel on their network during its prohibition period,” MIB stated. “Failure to do so will result in appropriate/suitable action being initiated against the defaulter(s) in accordance with the relevant clause(s) of the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act, 1995 and rules framed thereunder.”
The company, in response to the SCN’s vide letter dated 19 January 2022 sought an extension of time.
Accordingly, the company was informed to apply for a 10-year renewal by 28 February 2022. However, the company did not apply within the prescribed time frame. Therefore, another SCN dated 14 March 2022 was issued to the company.
The company, in response to the letter dated 28 March 2022 again sought an extension of time. Accordingly, the company was informed to apply for a 10-year renewal by 31 July 2022 but the company, in response to SCN, has again sought an extension of time.
The company that got the permission renewed was required to apply for the same six months prior to the date of expiry of the permission period. However, the company has still not applied for a 10-year renewal for its two channels despite a considerable lapse of time.
The company has therefore violated clauses 5.4 & 5.8 of the uplinking guidelines, 2011.
Clause 5.4 of uplinking guidelines 2011, provides that “The Company shall furnish such information as may be required by the ministry of information & broadcasting, from time to time.”
“The company shall ensure its continued eligibility as applicable throughout the period of permission and adhere to all the terms and conditions of the permission, failing which the company will be liable for a penalty as specified,” according to clause 5.8 of uplinking guidelines 2011.
The TV channel Whistle TV is non-operational. Therefore, there is no provision in the uplinking guidelines that permits the channel to remain non-operational. Therefore, the company has violated clause 5.8 of the uplinking guidelines, 2011.
Further action will be taken for a period of 30 days with the direction to the company to pay outstanding dues and fulfil regulatory compliance, failing which further action will be taken.
However, if the company applies for a 10-year renewal for the two channels and takes necessary steps to remove the other violations of the policy guidelines for uplinking of TV channels in 2011, during the period of prohibition, the permission to the channel may be considered for restoration.
I&B Ministry
India turns up the heat on piracy, orders Telegram to axe 3,142 channels and blocks 800 websites
New legal teeth, nodal officers and notices to intermediaries signal that the government is done playing nice with copyright thieves
NEW DELHI: India’s war on film piracy just got significantly more aggressive. The government has ordered Telegram to remove 3,142 channels distributing pirated content, blocked access to around 800 websites through internet service providers, and put the full weight of freshly sharpened legislation behind the crackdown. The message from New Delhi is unambiguous: the free ride for copyright thieves is over.
Minister of state for information and broadcasting L. Murugan spelled out the legal architecture to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023, he said, now contains specific provisions designed to make piracy a genuinely painful proposition. Sections 6AA and 6AB prohibit unauthorised recording and transmission of films, with violations attracting a minimum of three months’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 3 lakh. At the upper end, offenders face three years behind bars and fines of up to 5 per cent of a film’s audited gross production cost — a figure that, for a big-budget production, could run into crores.
The legislation also gives the government powers to act against intermediaries hosting infringing content, by notifying them under Section 79(3) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and compelling takedowns and blocking actions. Under Section 79(3)(b), intermediaries are legally required to remove or disable access to unlawful content upon receiving government notice or court orders. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, add a further layer of obligation, requiring platforms to ensure their services are not used to host or distribute content that violates copyright or proprietary rights.
To put enforcement into practice, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has established a dedicated institutional mechanism, complete with nodal officers to receive complaints. Copyright holders, authorised representatives or individuals can report piracy through a prescribed format, after which the government issues notices to intermediaries to disable access to infringing links.
The most headline-grabbing action came on 11 March 2026, when Telegram was formally notified under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act and directed to remove and disable 3,142 channels found to be distributing unauthorised content belonging to OTT platforms, content owners and producers. The complaints that triggered the action came from OTT platforms including JioCinema and Amazon Prime Video, which alleged that copyrighted films, web series and other material were being shared on the platform on a massive scale. Telegram’s architecture, with its large file-sharing limits and capacity for user anonymity, has made it a favoured vehicle for exactly this kind of large-scale piracy.
The Telegram action sits within a broader pattern of escalating enforcement. Just days before the Lok Sabha statement, the ministry banned five OTT platforms for streaming obscene content: MoodXVIP, Koyal Playpro, Digi Movieplex, Feel and Jugnu. In July 2025, the Centre ordered the blocking of 25 OTT platforms accused of streaming obscene, vulgar or pornographic material, a list that included ALTT, ULLU, Big Shots App, Desiflix, Boomex, Navarasa Lite, Gulab App, Kangan App, Bull App, Jalva App, ShowHit, Wow Entertainment, Look Entertainment, Hitprime, Feneo, ShowX, Sol Talkies, Adda TV, HotX VIP, Hulchul App, MoodX, NeonX VIP, Fugi, Mojflix and Triflicks.
Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, provides the regulatory hook for those actions, prohibiting platforms from hosting content that is obscene, pornographic, invasive of privacy, gender-harassing, racially or ethnically objectionable, or that promotes hatred and violence.
For an industry that loses billions of rupees annually to piracy, the direction of travel is welcome. The question, as always, is not whether the laws exist, but whether the enforcement machinery can keep pace with the ingenuity of those determined to circumvent it. Three thousand channels down, and the pirates are already busy opening three thousand more.
