The court insisted that the reason for revoking the licence should be revealed and then asked all the relevant files be produced before it and posted the case for Monday.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM — The Kerala High Court on Wednesday extended, till next Monday, its interim order, staying the Union government’s decision to cancel the permission to telecast Malayalam TV news channel MediaOne.

A bench of Justice N. Nagaresh had on Monday stayed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting order revoking its licence to broadcast till the next hearing date on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the court asked the Centre to produce before it the relevant files of the Ministry of Home Affairs which recommended the cancellation of the licence of the channel for national security reasons.

Appearing for the Centre, Assistant Solicitor General, S. Manu informed the Court that the channel’s licence was cancelled due to security reasons, which cannot be revealed in the open court and wanted the stay order not be extended.

But the counsel for the TV channel told the court that the national security cannot be a reason to cancel the licence without prior notice.

The court insisted that the reason for revoking the licence should be revealed and then asked all the relevant files be produced before it and posted the case for Monday.