But final call on licences for 33 channels with Home Ministry.

Sun TV may get the broadcast licences of its 33 channels renewed as chances of the group securing security clearance brightened after Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley noted on a file that the government should not deny it clearance.

Mr. Jaitley noted that the Ministry did not believe there was sufficient ground for denying security clearance, a top government source said.

The source said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) was yet to get back on the noting.

In June, it >ruled against renewing the clearance, which expired in December, on grounds of national security.

The promoters of the group, Dayanidhi Maran and Kalanithi Maran, are under investigation in cases of money laundering and corruption, one being the >Aircel-Maxis case. The criminal cases against Sun TV constituted a direct threat to national and economic security, it said.

The Delhi and Madras High Courts had, however, >allowed the group to participate in the FM auctions. The Sun Group, which had been running FM channel since 2002, had approached the courts. Mr. Jaitley noted that the I&B Ministry would go along with the final call of the Home Ministry, the source said. While the Home Ministry has refused to grant security clearance to Sun TV’s television and FM channels, the Home Ministry has held that its print publications, such as Dinakaran and Kungumam do not need the clearance.

Earlier, the Law Ministry and the >Attorney-General’s office said mere filing of cases against its owners could not be a ground to deny the right to run a channel; it could be legally challenged and could go against the spirit of Article 19 (1) [freedom of speech] of the Constitution. The I&B Ministry has maintained that since promoters of other channels too have criminal cases against them, the shutting of one because of pending cases could set a precedent for clamping down on inconvenient viewpoints.

Corrections and Clarifications:

This article has been edited for a factual error.