SC dismisses govt's plea against Sun TV's Red FM

In a boost for Marans, the Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the government's plea against Sun TV-owned Red FM on the back of security clearance. The radio channel had been facing trouble since the government had denied renewing its license, citing 'security threat' posed by the Marans, who are minority shareholders in the radio channel. In April last year, Ministry of Home Affairs had rejected security clearance to Kalanithi Maran-promoted Sun TV Network's radio channels. The company had applied for license renewal from Phase II to Phase III, which would have allowed more channels in the same bandwidth. The renewal requires security clearance from the Home Ministry. The Supreme Court dismissed the plea saying there is no ground for the complaint by the government. The apex court also said that there has been no evidence of abuse of radio waves by the channel in the past. Red FM was allowed extension of phase II by the government in 2015, when the prosecution was underway. The SC also said that Marans are facing only prosecution and have not been convicted. Watch video for more.