New Delhi, October 9: The central government on Friday asked private television channels to adhere by Programme Code under Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act, 1995. Citing specific rules, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said private TV channels must not air contents that are obscene, defamatory, half-truth or malign reputation of an individual or a group. 'UPSC Jihad' Show: Suresh Chavhanke's Sudarshan TV Barred From Airing Further Episodes Till Final Order, Supreme Court Says 'Programme's Objective is to Vilify Muslims'.

"The attention is drawn to the following provisions of the Programme Code which provide that no programme should contain; Rule 6(1)(D): anything obscene, defamatory, deliberate, false and suggestive innuendos and half-truths. Rule 6(1)(i): criticises, maligns or slander any individual in person or certain groups, segments of social, public and moral life of the country," read the advisory.

Centre Issues Advisory to Private TV Channels:

The advisory comes a day after the News Broadcasting Standard Authority (NBSA) imposed Rs 1 lakh fine on Aaj Tak news channel for broadcasting fake tweets attributing them to late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The NBSA also directed Zee News, India TV and News24 to air an apology for violating ethics during their coverage of Sushant Singh Rajput's death case.

Moreover, the Mumbai Police have busted a major fraud of manipulating TRP (Television Rating Point) data by at least three TV channels and nabbed two persons. The channels allegedly indulging in the fraudulent activities include Republic TV, Fakt Marathi and Box Cinema, Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh said on Thursday.

"Preliminary probe revealed that they manipulated the sampling metering services by inducing the barometer users and paying them periodically to watch particular TV channel/s," Singh said. Some of the people in whose homes these barometers have been installed have confessed that they were paid Rs.500 for keeping their TV sets switched on even if they didn't actually watch.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 09, 2020 04:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).