‘Obscene’ visuals: HC notice to Govt, TRAI

Controversial starlet Jahnavi Kapoor, who attempted suicide before the Mumbai home of actor Amitabh Bachchan, was today the subject of a debate in the Delhi High Court.

“Obscene” visuals, aired by a private TV channel showing the actor at her home, have recently sparked off a debate on the question of a proper mechanism to monitor television content. The High Court has issued notices to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, Telecommunication Ministry and TRAI to file their responses on the feasibility of a monitoring mechanism.

The Court was hearing a petition filed by Jahnavi seeking cancellation of the TV channel’s licence for airing her “obscene” visuals on May 7. “Is there any control room to regulate the contents? Every time such a matter comes to the court, you will say that it has been telecast and it is over,” the Court said. Arguing for the private channel, senior counsel Arun Jaitley ruled out pre-censorship as a solution to control the images beamed out by “over 500 channels”. “We normally blur the visuals in public interest,” Jaitley submitted.