Complainant IndusInd Media and Communications Pvt Ltd (owned by the Hindujas) had alleged that Zee TV arbitrarily switched off the Incable decoder receiving Zee Cinema signals, and that the system of fixing subscription charges for cable operators constituted a restrictive trade practice. In an interim order, MRTPC rejected the Incable contention that charges payable by cable operators to channels should be the same irrespective of whether operators transmit it to 100 or 500 subscribers. The MRTPC said the argument that charges cannot be linked with the number of subscribers was not acceptable.

``On the basis of material presented before us, prima facie it appears that at present the practice in the cable industry is to link the subscription charges to the number of subscribers, the commission added. Counsel for ZeeCinema, Prathibha M Singh and Maninder Singh contended that Incable Network itself provided connections to cable operators and was charging subscription on the basis of connectivity alone.

The Zee counsel said, ``Since the complainant itself is charging and recovering subscription on the basis of connectivity, the complaint should be dismissed.''

Incable Network alleged that Zee Cinema and Siti Cable were vertically integrated and Zee Cinema did not charge Siti Cable subscription fee on the same basis on which the complainant was charged and therefore indulged in discriminatory pricing.