Kochi Feb 28 PTI The Union government is sending four Cabinet Ministers to facilitate repatriation of the around 19000 Indians stranded in Ukraine there amidst the ongoing Russian offensive the Centre told the Kerala High Court on Monday The submission was made before Justice N Nagaresh by Assistant Solicitor General ASG Manu S who also told the court that prompt action would be taken to bring back the students He also told the court that the Ministry of External Affairs MEA was in constant touch with the embassies of Ukraine and its neighbouring countries and that discussions have also been held with the Russian Ambassador on the issue of evacuating the students safely The ASG said that the Russian government has assured of its cooperation in the matter The submissions were made during hearing of a plea moved by the Kerala High Court Advocates Association and two of its members whose daughter is stranded in Ukraine for the safe and expeditious repatriation of the Malayali students trapped there Advocate Santhosh Mathew who represented the petitioners told the court about the practical difficulties faced by the students trapped in the war-hit cities like Kyiv and Kharkiv as well as by those who managed to reach the borders but were not permitted to go through In the plea which was moved on Monday and heard on the same day the petitioners have contended that while the Indian Embassy there was coordinating the evacuation efforts the reality of the situation is that these children must bear the entire cost and risk of travelling in a warzone to the nearest border After they reach the border they are faced with mass discrimination and torture by the Ukrainian Army and the border patrol and they are also made to wait for hours in the extreme cold weather the petition has claimed and added that this was probably due to the alleged lack of a presence of the representatives of the Indian Embassy During the hearing Mathew also told the court that arrangements be made for transportation of the students from Lviv railway station to the Polish border which is 28 kilometres from the station He also told the court that Sister Ligy Payyappilly Mother Superior of a Convent at Mukachevo near Lviv has agreed to provide shelter and food to the students till arrangements are made to take them to the Polish border The plea has sought a direction to the Kerala government to provide adequate financial assistance as may be required for enabling the Indian Embassy to repatriate the students from Kerala who are stranded in Kyiv The state government told the court that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has already written to the Prime Minister that Kerala was willing to meet the expenses of bringing the Malayali students to the state once they reach India After hearing all sides the court allowed the petitioners to pass on the information they have about the stranded students to the ASG so that the Centre can do whatever is possible for their expeditious repatriation and listed the matter for further hearing on Wednesday March 2 Eighty-two Malayali students who were studying in Ukraine and left after the Russian invasion of that country had arrived in Kerala by Sunday night PTI HMP SS SS

Thiruvananthapuram Jan 31 PTI The Union Government on Monday barred the telecast of Malayalam news channel MediaOne citing security reasons but the Kerala High Court stayed the implementation of the order for two days The Centres move drew the ire of many including the ruling Left party and the Opposition Congress both condemning the decision and terming the move as undemocratic The telecast of MediaOne channel has once again been disallowed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Government of India citing security reasons The Government has not been forthcoming with the details Pramod Raman the Editor of MediaOne said in a statement here Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the ban was a serious matter and it was the responsibility of those who believe in democracy to protect Article 19 of the Indian Constitution which grants the freedom of speech and expression Freedom of expression is an integral part of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution It should not be violated There should be room for diverse opinions otherwise democracy itself will be in danger Society needs to be vigilant to ensure that Article 19 is not violated Vijayan said The chief minister in his statement said the reason behind the ban on telecast was not clear and a Constitutional solution should be reached The order of the Information and Broadcasting ministry as shared by the MediaOne channel shows that the Ministry of Home Affairs had denied security clearance to the channel under Madhyamam Broadcasting Limited for renewal of permission The order says that a show cause notice was issued to MediaOne to which the channel replied that they were unaware of the grounds of denial of security clearance and requested not to initiate further proceedings Since the Ministry of Home Affairs has denied the security clearance The channel cannot be allowed to operate sic the order read The media house later in the day challenged the order before the Kerala High Court which put on hold its implementation for two days While putting on hold the order Justice N Nagaresh also sought the Centres stand on the plea moved by Madhyamam Broadcasting Ltd which operates MediaOne channel Senior advocate S Sreekumar and advocate K Rakesh who represented the media group told the high court that the channel was not involved in any anti-national activity and urged it to direct the ministry to withdraw the order Speaking to PTI Rakesh said the ministrys order was received around 1 PM on Monday and by 145 PM the plea was filed and by 3 PM permission was granted for urgent hearing of the matter He confirmed that the court put on hold the order till Wednesday the next date of hearing Assistant Solicitor General S Manu who appeared for the ministry said he opposed the plea and sought time from the court to get appropriate instructions from the Centre Therefore the court listed the matter on Wednesday and till then put on hold the implementation of the order he added The ruling CPIM condemned the ban and said it was part of the union governments agenda to control the media The Union government is trying to control media houses one by one The ban on telecast of MediaOne was part of the union governments agenda to control the media The decision is condemnable it said in a statement Meanwhile Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan slammed the IB move The banning of telecast of MediaOne channel without citing any reason was undemocratic This is against natural justice The Union government has a responsibility to cite the reason behind the ban The government is trying to implement the agenda of Sangh Parivar which has been intolerant against unpleasant truths he said He said the ban amounts to attack on media freedom MediaOne along with another Malayalam News channel Asianet was briefly suspended for 48 hours over their coverage of communal violence in Delhi in 2020 with the official orders then saying they covered the violence in a manner that highlighted the attack on places of worship and siding towards a particular community Channels reporting on Delhi violence seems to be biased as it is deliberately focusing on the vandalism of CAA supporters the ministry order on Media One had said adding it also questions RSS and alleges Delhi Police inaction Channel seems to be critical towards Delhi Police and RSS PTI RRT HMP SA SA

Kochi Jan 31 PTI The Union Government on Monday barred the telecast of Malayalam news channel MediaOne citing security reasons but the Kerala High Court stayed the implementation of the order for two days The Centres move drew the ire of many with the Opposition Congress party terming the move as undemocratic The telecast of MediaOne channel has once again been disallowed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Government of India citing security reasons The Government has not been forthcoming with the details Pramod Raman the Editor of MediaOne said in a statement here When contacted Information and Broadcasting ministry officials confirmed that the channel has been banned but did not share any further details The media house challenged the order before the Kerala High Court which put on hold its implementation for two days While putting on hold the order Justice N Nagaresh also sought the Centres stand on the plea moved by Madhyamam Broadcasting Ltd which operates MediaOne channel Senior advocate S Sreekumar and advocate K Rakesh who represented the media group told the high court that the channel was not involved in any anti-national activity and urged it to direct the ministry to withdraw the order Speaking to PTI Rakesh said the ministrys order was received around 1 PM on Monday and by 145 PM the plea was filed and by 3 PM permission was granted for urgent hearing of the matter He confirmed that the court put on hold the order till Wednesday the next date of hearing Assistant Solicitor General S Manu who appeared for the ministry said he opposed the plea and sought time from the court to get appropriate instructions from the Centre Therefore the court listed the matter on Wednesday and till then put on hold the implementation of the order he added Meanwhile Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan slammed the IB move The banning of telecast of MediaOne channel without citing any reason was undemocratic This is against natural justice The Union government has a responsibility to cite the reason behind the ban The government is trying to implement the agenda of Sangh Parivar which has been intolerant against unpleasant truths he said He said the ban amounts to attack on media freedom MediaOne along with another Malayalam News channel Asianet was briefly suspended for 48 hours over their coverage of communal violence in Delhi in 2020 with the official orders then saying they covered the violence in a manner that highlighted the attack on places of worship and siding towards a particular community Channels reporting on Delhi violence seems to be biased as it is deliberately focusing on the vandalism of CAA supporters the ministry order on Media One had said adding it also questions RSS and alleges Delhi Police inaction Channel seems to be critical towards Delhi Police and RSS PTI RRT AG HMP SA BN BN

Kochi Nov 23 PTI The Kerala High Court on Tuesday sought the Centre and state governments response to a plea seeking removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modis photograph from the COVID-19 vaccination certificate Admitted Justice N Nagaresh said and issued notice to the Centre and the Kerala government seeking their stand on the petition by a senior citizen who has contended that the PMs photo on his vaccination certificate was a violation of fundamental rights The court directed the Centre and the state to file their reply affidavits before the next date of hearing The petitioner Peter Myaliparampil has contended that he had paid for the two doses of vaccine and therefore the certificate was his private space with his personal details on record and therefore it was inappropriate to intrude into the privacy of an individual PTI HMP ROH ROH