Pandey further claimed, "There are thousands of small-time cable networks, but because these people have to name someone they're targetting us and In Cable. In fact, we welcome this judgement because we believe there should be deterrents against those who violate the law."

The Hollywood producers including Twentieth Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Time-Warner Entertainment and Disney Enterprises had filed a petition in the Delhi High Court last week in an effort to curb unauthorised duplication and exhibition of their films by cable operators.

The petitioners had alleged that thesenetworks, which practically covered the entire country, had recently shown films like Speed, Blade, Mad City, As Good As It Gets, Ronin, City of Angels, The Mask Of Zorro and Wag the Dog illegally. "We have been conducting raids on cable operators for quite some time now. But with this injunction, illegal screenings will amount to contempt of the high court ruling. It may not totally wipe out the problem, but will at least make their task a little more difficult," said Aditya Shastri, Twentieth Century Fox's General Manager in India.

Shastri informed that the Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA) anti-piracy wing conducted a raid on a Siti Cable operator in Ghatkopar. According to Rajeev Sharma, the MPAA representative in Mumbai, "After we raided this operator, cable connections in the entire area extending from Trombay and Sion to Vikhroli and Mulund were cut for two days." Shastri countered, "Siti Cable cannot throw up its hands and declare it has nothing to do with the operator.After all they have to be responsible for the signals their franchisees beam."

However, Pandey claimed that the raid had nothing to do with his company. "We don't even know the person whose premises were raided. He is not one of our operators. But anyone can pick up signals from anywhere. Our company makes sure that each one of our operators gets a written circular on programming they are authorised to beam to ensure that there are no violations," he said.