Information and Broadcasting Ministry had referred the proposal to the Ministry of Company Affairs to check whether it was in line with the guidelines required for a DTH licence, highly-placed sources said on Friday.
The Company Affairs Ministry's objection to SUN TV's application comes close on the heels of its view that the Star-Tata DTH venture Space TV was also in violation of DTH guidelines as well as Company Law.
As per the eligibility criteria laid forth for a DTH licence, the government has stipulated that broadcasting companies and/or cable network companies shall not be eligible to collectively own more than 20 per cent of the total equity of applicant company at any time during the licence period.
Similarly, the applicant company should not have more than 20 per cent equity share in a broadcasting and/or cable network company.
Sun TV's DTH venture -- Sun Direct TV -- has Kalanithi holding 96.67 per cent with a Rs 145 crore (Rs 1.45 million) investment in paid-up equity while his wife
Kaveri Maran holds 3.33 per cent with investment of Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million). Interestingly, Maran is also chairman and managing director of Sun TV, in which he holds 60 per cent equity.
This has put the proposal of Kalanithi, the brother of Union Telecommunications and IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran, in trouble.
