The Supreme Court (SC) has declared that the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) does not have the legal authority to suspend the licence of any TV channel.
According to details, the Supreme Court ruling upholds a decision made by the Sindh High Court, stating that the chairman PEMRA does not have the legal authority to suspend the licence of any channel. The decision was made by a three-member bench of the Supreme Court in Islamabad where Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik issued a nine-page ruling.
The ruling referred to Section 13 of the PEMRA ordinance, which clearly states that neither the Chairman nor any individual has the authority to suspend a licence. While the Supreme Court confirmed that conditions for suspending a broadcast media licence do exist but it is still unclear who has the power to suspend licences in PEMRA.
The court ruled that it is necessary for rules to be put in place to clarify the situation. The court confirmed that the delegation of powers had taken place in the 156th meeting of PEMRA, but the organization’s lawyer was unable to provide any valid reason for the decision.—INP
