NEW DELHI: The hearing of a petition by the state owned Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation (TACTV) challenging the failure of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) to grant it provisional licence has been put off to 28 January.

The Court, which on 21 December ordered status quo on the issue relating to disconnection of TV signals transmitted by TACTV, is understood to have given time as some of the parties wanted more time to file their replies. 

The status quo order had been given by Justice M M Sundresh on a plea filed by TACTV general manager K Priya seeking a direction to the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry to grant provisional license for Digital Addressable System (DAS).

Counsel for TACTV Abdul Saleem had then submitted that pending consideration of their application of 5 July, 2012 and 23 November, 2012 for regularisation of the licence, the status quo should be maintained.

Even as it failed to give provisional licence to TACTV, the Ministry had said its signals would be disconnected if it failed to give digital signals to Phase III areas comprising municipalities and corporations by 31 December, 2015.

The "inaction on the part of the Ministry is illegal, against the due process of law and violative of Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India,” Saleem had contended.