New Delhi, Oct 6: In a bid to boost investor confidence, the government on Thursday notified amendments to the Cable Television Networks Rules that provide the operational mechanism for implementation of the decriminalised provisions of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act. Section 16 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 dealt with the punishment for contraventions under any of its provisions. This section had provision for imprisonment, which might extend up to two years in case of the first instance and five years for every subsequent offence.The imprisonment provisions have been now replaced with a monetary penalty and other non-monetary measures like advisory, warning and censure, an official statement said.
These measures will be enforced through the “designated officer” defined in the rules notified on Thursday. Moreover, Section 16 now introduces an appeal mechanism against the order made by the designated officer.