Date:09/06/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/06/09/stories/2004060903301401.htm

National

No violation of law: M.J. Akbar

NEW DELHI, JUNE 8. Midram Publications today asked the Government to drop the case being made against the publication of International Herald Tribune (IHT) from India contending that there was no violation of law. Its Editor, M. J. Akbar, however, said that he would take recourse to courts in case the Government persisted with the issue.

``When foreign journals like Time or papers like The New York Times could be sold freely in India, what is wrong if we publish International Herald Tribune as an Indian publication edited by Indians. At least we are taking the responsibility,'' Mr. Akbar told PTI after sending a reply to a Government communication that informed his company that the ``publication was not permitted''.

In its letter last week, the Government had informed Midram Publications which started printing the IHT from Hyderabad late last month that the publication was not permissible in terms of the ``guidelines for syndication arrangements by newspapers under the extant policy of the government pertaining to print media''.

Dubbing the guidelines as ``wholly arbitrary, malafide, illegal and unconstitutional'', Mr. Akbar said in his letter to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry this evening that the ``so called policy referred by you violates our fundamental right guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution.''

Asked about the Government's move to file caveat to pre-empt any move by Midram Publications to prevent Government action ex-parte, Mr. Akbar said that he had responded to the letter sent by the I&B Ministry and if the Government still sought to stop publication of the paper he would go to court.

Mr. Akbar said there was nothing in the government communication (to them) that showed that Midram Publications had violated any law. He said his company had ``complied with the law of the land'' by registering the newspaper with the Registrar of Newspapers for India. ''... And we are fully accountable for such publication and are amenable to the jurisdiction of Indian laws.''