Comedy Central is an Indian pay television channel owned by Viacom18. The channel is geared for mature audiences and carries comedy programming in the form of both original and syndicated series, as well as stand-up comedy specials.
History
Comedy Central launched in India on 23 January 2012, the product of a joint venture between Viacom and TV18. To promote the then new channel and nudge viewers its way the group organised a live event featuring British comedian Russell Brand who performed in a three-city tour of New Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai, the biggest markets for English programming in India.
Comedy Central was prohibited from broadcasting in India for 10 days, from 25 May until 4 June 2012, after an inter-ministerial committee set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting found that two of its shows that aired in 2012, carried "obscene dialogues and vulgar words" that "offend good taste", violating several provisions of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994. The provisions of the law include "no programme should be carried in the cable service which offends against good taste or decency; no programme should be carried which contains anything obscene, defamatory, deliberate, false and suggestive innuendos and half truths". It also states that "no programme should be carried which denigrates women through the depiction in any manner of the figure of woman, her form or body or any part thereof in such a way as to have the effect of being indecent or derogatory to women or is likely to injure the public morality". The incidents in question involved an episode of Stand Up Club where an unnamed stand-up performed an act with "obscene dialogues and vulgar words derogatory to women" aired on 26 May 2012, and an episode of the French hidden camera prank show PopCorn TV aired on 4 July 2012, where one of the crew members was shown standing opposite a wall, in a shop holding a pair of fake legs against his thighs in his hands and making suggestive movements similar to having sex. Comedy Central apologised for the broadcast, blaming it on an "unintentional genuine error". The network appealed the ban in the Delhi High Court, but a single judge bench upheld the ban stating that the penalty prohibiting the broadcast of the channel for 10 days could not be considered as "excessive, harsh or unreasonable". Viewers were presented with a simple black screen for the duration of the ban. The ministry's decision to directly issue a show-cause notice and, later, order a blackout raised serious concern in the Indian broadcasting industry. Most reactions on social media saw the government's move as "extreme and draconian". Critics felt that the government had used the vague framing of the Constitution to censor Internet material, threatening India's democratic traditions.
