Govt order asking TV viewers to set up set-top boxes stayed

GBNews24 Desk//

The High Court on Tuesday stayed a recent government order that asked television viewers across the country to install set-top boxes by May 31 to watch digital satellite channels on their TVs.

A set-top box is necessary for viewers who want to use their analogue television sets to receive digital broadcasts.

The court also asked the government to explain in four weeks why the April 28 order issued by the Information and Broadcasting ministry asking TV viewers to install set-top boxes by May 31 should not be declared ‘mala-fide’, ‘arbitrary’ and ‘illegal’.

A bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order after hearing a writ petition filed on May 29 by businessman M Kawser of Khilgaon area in the capital Dhaka.

Petitioner’s lawyer Khandaker Mohammad Musfiqul Huda told the court that the government was compelling viewers to purchase and install set-top boxes, replacing the dish service providers, without making any regulation for the use of digital satellite services, determining the authority of monitoring controlling of digital service and the uniform subscription fees for providing new services.