Chennai CAS denotification stayed

NEW DELHI: The Chennai High Court today stayed the denotification of Chennai from the conditional access (CAS) roadmap by the government on recommendation of the industry regulator, Telecom regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

Cable TV industry sources in Chennai confirmed to indiantelevision.com sometime back of the development.

The government and Trais reaction to the court observation were not immediately available.

The court had been moved by four parties, including two individual CAS-enabled consumers in Chennai and the Cable TV Operators Welfare Association of Tamil Nadu.

The ground of the petition was that at the insistence of the central government, CA was introduced in Chennai and several people had bought set-top boxes, subsequent to which they had been enjoying a fairly good service at low price of Rs. 72, plus local taxes.

The recent government decision to defer implementation of CAS for several months would tantamount to injustice being meted out to those consumers who had bought boxes, some of the petitioners had contended.

The Delhi-based president of Cable TV Operators Federation of India (COFI), Roop Sharma, welcomed the Chennai courts decision and said that the other state governments and the central government should take note of this fact. The court verdict is a partial victory for the cable industry that has been backing the implementation of CAS, which was being opposed by a section of pay broadcasters, she added.

Keep tuned in for more details on this issue, which can have a cascading effect in other metros too.