The petitioner-company in year 2010 was granted a 15-year license by Pemra to operate a cable channel in the name of "Filmazia." It said the government had indulged in selective patriotism as Indian movies had been allowed to be screened but not on television. The petitioner's counsel Asma Jahangir urged the court to declare the impugned circular ultra vires of the authority's rules and the Constitution as well.
Defending the ban, Pemra's counsel told the court that the impugned ban was imposed in response to ban on broadcasting of Pakistani dramas in India. He further stated that the content of Indian dramas had been found objectionable and contrary to ideology of Pakistan. At this, the Chief Justice observed that the objectionable/indecent content of Indian dramas could be censored.
The CJ further noted that the federal government had no objection to the exhibition of India dramas and the Pemra acted on its own. The CJ also observed that the grounds of indecent and objectionable content taken by the Pemra's counsel in oral arguments were not mentioned in its written reply. Lambasting the Pemra's policy, the CJ observed that the authority needed to revisit its policy as the world had become a global village and unreasonable restrictions were not sustainable. The Chief Justice therefore struck down the impugned circular and lifted the ban on airing of Indian dramas on television channels.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017