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Madras High Court declines to restrain MSOs, LCOs from transmitting analogue signals
New Delhi: Even as a petition by Chennai Metro Cable Operators Association (CMCOA) seeking extension of implementation of the digital access system is pending hearing, the Madras High Court has refused to grant interim injunction restraining local cable operators from transmitting the cable TV signals in analogue mode.
However, Justice Vinod K Sharma said: “It is admitted that the cable operators including Arasu cable are providing only analogue system and therefore violating law for which they can be prosecuted under section 11 and section 16 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulations) 1995.”
But he said this did not mean he was accepting the petition by T Saikrishnan seeking to restrain LCOs and multi-system operators like Arasu from transmitting or operating analogue head end or importing cable TV signals from Non-DAS area or rolling out cable TV signals without DAS licence to the consumers within Chennai Metropolitan area.
Justice Sharma said: “It cannot be said that the applicant has prima facie case to seek injunction nor the balance of convenience is in favour of him is not likely to suffer any irreparable loss.”
In the suit, the plaintiff claimed that he is in cable business for last several years after getting valid licence from the postal department. He is operating in and around Virugambakkam in Chennai. Other local cable operators including Arasu cable in the cable business were transmitting signals in and around the area and other areas of city without obtaining necessary licence.
Arasu Cable Television got itself impleaded as party and filed the counter. It submitted that the applicant had not come to the court with clean hands and filed the application at the instigation of some vested interest who did not want the government to operate the cable TV business.
P H Arvindh Pandian, Additional Advocate General, contended that the Union government already issued MSO licence to Arasu cable in April 2008 which was valid up to 2013 and it had also applied for DAS licence with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and the application was still pending. Arasu Cable was running cable TV network in public interest to provide transmission.
The Judge viewed that under the Act, the aggrieved person could file an appeal for taking action against persons or authority. “The remedy for violation is provided under the Act under section 11 and 16 whereas civil suit is barred in view of law laid down by the Supreme Court”, added Mr. Justice Sharma.
Meanwhile, the petition by (CMCOA) through its General Secretary M R Srinivasan for extension of DAS pending before Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar is expected to come up for hearing in the last week of this month.
Applications
With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
