NEW DELHI: The central government renews the license of MediaOne after Supreme Court verdict. Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has renewed the license for ten years and the ministry has issued an order in this regard. On April 5, the Supreme Court had directed that the license be renewed within four weeks, following which the broadcast ban on MediaOne was lifted.

On January 31 last year, the central government issued an order banning MediaOne's operating license. The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting banned the channel on the grounds that it did not have security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs. MediaOne approached the Supreme Court after the High Court upheld the central action.

The court observed that channels criticizing the policies and actions of the government cannot be portrayed as anti-national and free media is essential for a vibrant democracy. Violating civil rights in the name of national security is illegal. The court also observed that the Centre has not been able to produce sufficient facts to deny security clearance to Media One channel. The verdict was delivered by a two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud.