The Supreme Court said on Wednesday that a media outlet cannot be silenced simply because it criticizes the government, lifting restrictions imposed by the centre based on national security.

The Supreme Court overturned an order by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting that refused to renew the channel’s broadcast licence due to a lack of security clearance, and chastised the Home Ministry for making national security claims out of ‘thin air’.

The court ruled that MediaOne’s criticism of the government’s policies and actions cannot be interpreted as anti-national or anti-establishment and that an independent press is essential for a vibrant democracy.

“National security cannot be invoked to deny people their rights… it was invoked cavalierly in this case by the Home Ministry”, the court, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, ruled, overturning the Kerala High Court, which had upheld the centre’s decision.

The judges ruled that the government had failed to present any material facts or evidence to justify its decision to impose the broadcast ban on MediaOne, which was one of the few channels that reported extensively on the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests in 2020 and the riots that ensued in Delhi.

The court said, “There is no evidence of terrorist links. National security claims cannot be made from thin air. It is clear that none of the material is a threat to national security or public order”.

The court stated that the government cannot take the position that the press must support it. It stated that criticism of the government could not be used to revoke a TV channel’s licence.

Slamming the centre’s attempt to conceal its justification and filing them under sealed cover proceedings cannot be used to offset the harm resulting from public immunity proceedings, the court ruled.

“We believe that public immunity proceedings are a less restrictive way to protect the public interest”, the court added.

The Supreme Court declared, “There cannot be a general immunity granted to the government for providing information to the other parties in a judicial process. Any investigative reports cannot be deemed to be secret because they influence the people’s rights and liberties”.

MediaOne, which frequently clashed with the BJP-led administration at the federal level, was forced to shut down on January 31, 2021, when the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting took its name off the list of authorised stations.

The Kerala High Court judgement, which supported the centre’s choice, was suspended by the Supreme Court on March 15 of last year.