Television station licensee CN Sharma had his licence suspended for four months for the rebroadcast of the remark threatening the President and not for the initial airing of the programme, President Bharrat Jagdeo has emphasised.
In addition, Sharma successfully blocked Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon from hearing the case, leaving the President with no alternative but to hear the case himself, Jagdeo said.
Speaking with the media at the Office of the President yesterday, Jagdeo said that Sharma through his attorney at law Nigel Hughes successfully pleaded with the court for an order which prohibited Luncheon from convening or attempting to convene a meeting on April 10, 2008 or anytime thereafter for the purpose of exercising the power of the minister designated by the Guyana Post and Telegraph Act for the purpose of considering whether Sharma’s licence should be cancelled or suspended.
Noting that members of the media and others were saying that he should not have heard the case as it related directly to him, he said that the orders which Sharma sought successfully blocked him from delegating his powers leaving him with no recourse but to hear the case himself. His delegation, he said included Dr Luncheon, the Attorney General Doodnauth Singh and the Director of Telecommunication.
He said that during the meeting, it was acknowledged by everyone that there was an infringement of the licence since Sharma chastised the caller in the original broadcast but failed to edit the offending statement for a rebroadcast not just after the programme ended but days after.
While Sharma said that the rebroadcast was a mistake by a technician. Jagdeo said that the ultimate responsibility lies with the licensee and the blame should not be laid on a junior staffer.
Jagdeo said that the legislation which brought the ACB into being does not have the powers to impose sanctions nor does it have the powers to absolve the licensee or any licensee of an infringement of the licence. Those powers, he said are provided for in the Post and Telegraph Act and they reside solely with the minister.
The ACB as an advisory body could determine if there was an infringement and recognised there was an infringement on Sharma’s licence.
They wrote Sharma twice and he responded.
On April 2, 2008 Jagdeo said that he received two letters from the ACB. One was dated March 10, 2008 to the licensee citing the infringement of the rebroadcast and the licensee’s response was dated March 28, 2008. The response, Jagdeo said was inadequate.
As Minister vested with powers to sanction, he said that he asked the Head of the Presidential Secretariat to convene a hearing with the Sharma but that was quashed by the court order that Sharma obtained.
He said that the penalty could have been more severe since there was provision for the revocation of his licence but that was not done in spite of the seriousness of the offence.
Sharma’s television station Channel 6 was taken off the air by the government at midnight on April 11, 2008 for a period of four months.
