UK media watchdog suspends Khalsa TV licence over Khalistani propaganda

The UK’s media watchdog has suspended the licence of Khalsa Television Limited to broadcast within the nation after an investigation discovered its KTV channel breached broadcasting guidelines with Khalistani propaganda.

The Office of Communications (Ofcom) introduced its resolution this week after serving a suspension discover to the corporate over a ‘Prime Time’ programme, broadcast on KTV on December 30 final yr, for a breach of the Broadcasting Code with content material prone to “encourage or incite the commission of a crime or lead to disorder”.

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The communications regulator mentioned the 95-minute dwell dialogue programme included materials prone to “incite violence”.

“The presenter of the programme made a number of statements throughout the programme which, taken together, promoted violent action, including murder, as an acceptable and necessary form of action to further the Khalistani cause. This was a serious breach of our rules on incitement of crime and disorder,” Ofcom mentioned in an announcement.

“Given the serious nature of this breach, and for the reasons set out in our suspension notice, we are today suspending Khalsa Television Limited’s licence to broadcast in the UK with immediate effect,” the assertion from Thursday reads.

Khalsa Television Limited now has 21 days through which to make representations to Ofcom. Following this course of, it would resolve whether or not to revoke Khalsa Television Limited’s licence.

KTV is a tv channel broadcasting largely to the Sikh group within the UK beneath a licence held by Khalsa Television Limited. In February, the channel acquired Ofcom’s “Preliminary View” discover and in representations objected to its translation and evaluation of the programme. Ofcom mentioned this failed to supply “any substantive details of the objection” and supplied it one other likelihood to reply final month.

In its representations, the KTV reiterated that the programme in query didn’t comprise an incitement or name to violent motion in breach of Rule 3.1 and supplied an instance of what it mentioned was Ofcom’s “misunderstanding” of the phrases utilized by the presenter.

“Given the urgency and seriousness of the investigation and the time that the Licensee (KTV) had already been supplied to supply its full written representations, Ofcom didn’t contemplate it applicable to delay issues additional.

Ofcom famous that the Licensee would have an additional alternative to make written and oral representations ought to we resolve to droop its licence,” the suspension discover reads.

“During the Suspension Period, the Licensee, KTV Ltd, must not broadcast the KTV service. Pursuant to section 13 of the 1990 Act, failure to comply with this Suspension Notice by broadcasting the KTV service during the Suspension Period would amount to a criminal offence, which is punishable by an unlimited fine,” it notes.

Ofcom has beforehand additionally taken comparable motion in opposition to the channel, together with in February final yr when it imposed a complete advantageous of GBP 50,000 on the channel for broadcasting a music video and a dialogue programme that was deemed an oblique name for British Sikhs to commit violence and likewise contained a terror reference.

On its web site, KTV describes itself as an thrilling channel, airing a spread of cultural, instructional and entertaining programmes for audiences of all ages. It says it prides itself in being “completely independent, impartial and honest”.