Madras High Court has questioned the Tamil Nadu government regarding the absence of telecast for the State assembly proceedings. The court, comprising Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice PD Audikesavalu, directed the state government to explain why the assembly sessions cannot be telecast after removing footage of expunged remarks.

The court also sought clarification from TN Advocate General R Shunmugasundaram regarding a proposal for live telecast of zero hour speeches. The bench was addressing two public interest litigation (PIL) petitions filed in 2012 and 2015 by regional parties seeking live telecast of the Tamil Nadu Assembly proceedings.

AIADMK leader SP Velumani, who demanded live telecast on June 6, sought impleadment in the case. Velumani's counsel, Senior Advocate Vijay Narayan, highlighted the availability of the 'National eVidhan App,' which allows users to watch proceedings of the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and other legislative assemblies on their phones. Narayan pointed out that Tamil Nadu only broadcasts truncated portions of the assembly proceedings on the app.

Previously, Velumani and the original PIL petitioners, D Jagadheeswaran and A Vijayakant, accused the TN government of editing out speeches and questions raised by opposition members during the assembly sessions.

Advocate General Shunmugasundaram denied the allegations and referred to an additional counter affidavit filed by State Assembly Secretary K Srinivasan. The affidavit mentioned that the speaker of the assembly had recently stated that the proposal to live telecast zero hour speeches was under consideration.

Responding to this, the court asked the Advocate General to clarify whether the speaker had indeed made such a statement and when. The court also inquired why the proceedings could not be telecast after editing out expunged remarks.

The case is scheduled for the next hearing on June 26.

Case Title: Vijaykant v The Secretary