HOME COMMUNICATION LIMITED Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) All these petitions have been beard together,as same questions either in, support or against the scheme for allotment oftime slots on satellite channels of Doordarshan arise therein. Pleadings are, however, complete in C.W.P. 3248/93 filed by Bannett, Coleman & Co.Limited which we will generally refer to in the course of this judgment.

(2.) Civil Writ Petition No. 3104/93 was filed by Home Communication Network Ltd. and another in 6/07/1993. In this a restraint order is sought on the respondents not to deviate from the basis of first come first served (FCFS' for short) set out in the scheme, and for setting aside the decision order dated 3/07/1993 seeking to change the FCFS basis of allotment of time slots. Civil Writ Petition 3117/93 was filed by Dr. Arvind Gupta also on 6/07/1993. In this the petitioner prayed for a writ that effect not be given to public notice inviting applications from "interested applicants" forpreferential allotment of time slots to different class of applicants on FCFSbasis, or any other basis and for setting aside the impugned public notice.A direction is also sought against the respondents for laying down clear,intelligible and fair standards for granting licences for time slots to "eligibleapplicants" on satellite channels. And lastly, a direction to the respondentsto lay down the eligibility criteria for interested applicants seeking licencesfor transmitting programmes on satellite and metro channels. Other fivewrit petitions (CWP No. 3248/93 by Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd .; CWPNo. 3275/93 by Hindustan Times Ltd. ; CWP No. 3370/93 by Vijay Malhotraof Sri Productions : CWP 3376/93 by Indus Television : and CWP 3402/93by Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd. were filed later in the secondand third week of July 1993. In these five petitions the principal prayersare that the criteria of F.C.F.S. basis for allotment of time slots be quashedand that a proper eligibility criteria be laid for allotment of time slots takinginto account the experience, the track record, the financial backing as wellas quality of product produced by the applicants. In one of these petitionsthere is also a prayer that a direction be issued to the respondents not tomake allotment on the basis of Random Number Generation method ('RNG'for short) and to formulate a fair, reasonable and just scheme for thepurpose. The respondents are : Director General, Doordarsban ; Union ofIndia through the Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting; and the Deputy Director General, Satellite Channels, Doordarshan.

(3.) The immediate cause for filing these writ petitions was thatthough under the scheme the date for receiving the applications for allotment of time slots on satellite channels of Doordarshan was 5/07/1993 butthe queue outside the office of Doordarshan started forming on 23/06/1993 itself. The basis of allotment at that time was FCFS.