Delhi High Court upholds TRAI rule capping TV ads at 12 minutes per hour

On 29 May 2026, the Delhi High Court upheld the regulation issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that limits advertising on television channels to 12 minutes in every clock hour. The court rejected a batch of pleas filed by several national and regional broadcasters who had challenged the ceiling.

A division bench of Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Amit Mahajan held that TRAI was acting within the powers given to it by Parliament when it framed the per-hour ad cap in 2013. The cap permits 10 minutes of commercial spots and an additional 2 minutes of self-promotional content in every hour.

The broadcasters had argued that the rule violated Article 14 (right to equality) and Article 19 (freedom of speech and trade) of the Constitution. Some regional channels said advertising was their main source of revenue because subscription income was negligible, and that any time restriction would threaten their financial survival.

TRAI countered that television is fundamentally different from print. On TV, viewers cannot skip mid-programme ads, scrolls or overlays the way a newspaper reader can ignore a page advertisement. The regulator said the ceiling was framed after many consumer complaints about excessive interruptions and was meant to protect the quality of service promised in broadcasting licences.

In its 68-page order, the bench observed that on television the frequency, length and density of ad breaks are inseparable from the viewing experience. Excessive commercial intrusion, the court said, is not just an economic issue for viewers but a direct erosion of their right to a fair and reasonable viewing experience.

The court also reminded broadcasters that spectrum is a scarce public resource. They cannot claim an unrestricted right to use it purely for commercial gain. Reasonable regulation in the public interest is therefore permissible.

To show that the Indian cap is not unusual, the bench pointed to similar limits in countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Ireland, Argentina and Croatia, where the ceiling typically lies between 9 and 12 minutes per hour. The judgment concluded that the framework is a constitutionally valid use of state power over a scarce public resource for the common good.