MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday sought response from the union government on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition seeking to establish a separate censor board for television serials and advertisements.
The litigant KK Ramesh submitted that the stories of many television serials have unhealthy themes like extramarital affair, revenge etc. and in most of the serials, women are portrayed in a degrading manner. He also referred to many news reports about how movies which received 'A' (for adults only) certification, get re-certified to be released on small screens to enable the producers earn profit.
Pointing out that television has a much wider reach than movies and is watched by people of all age groups, especially children, the litigant expressed concern that the lack of a proper regulatory board for television serials would put children in a vulnerable situation by exposing them to unhealthy contents. The current procedure of getting re-certification from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) alone would not be enough, he added and sought the above direction.
A bench comprising Justices MS Ramesh and AD Maria Clete directed the union government to file a counter affidavit and adjourned the case to February 4, 2025.