The Administrative Court has issued an injunction to allow the red shirts' Peace TV back on the air until it rules on the controversial order by regulators that attempted to silence the station.
The decision effectively slapped down the censorship order by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), which revoked the station's licence last April 27.
"The Central Administrative Court has relaxed the decision of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission which withdrew the licence of Peace TV," the court said in a statement.
Jatuporn Promphan, head of the red shirts, said he will stop his own show on Peace TV until the final ruling by the Central Administrative Court. (AFP photo)
It added that the station must cooperate with the junta's broadcasting rules and that its injunction would come into effect Saturday.
The court added it will rule on whether the NBTC has the authority to shutter broadcasters. It gave no hint on when to expect its ruling.
The NBTC ordered Peace TV to stop broadcasting, saying it had repeatedly breached licensing terms and the junta's orders on broadcasting. It cited no examples, saying such reasons were secret.
Peace Television Co Ltd, the station's legally registered operator, petitioned the Administrative Court against the decision.
The company effectively represents, and is controlled by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), the official political wing of the red shirts.
The court on Thursday said that in revoking the red-shirt TV's licence, the NBTC had not allowed the TV operator to explain its side of the story or to produce evidence or hear its witnesses. As a result the ban could be illegitimate, the court said.
It is on that point - "could be illegitimate" - that the court will further consider and eventually issue a ruling.
Under former constitutions, the NBTC had no censorship authority. It was set up under the 1997 "people's charter" with the mission to regulate the airwaves, including radio and TV, phones and more.
Last April, however, the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) of the junta reportedly ordered the NBTC to intervene in the Peace TV controversy.
Because of Thursday's court decision, Peace TV can continue to air but it must comply with junta orders and with all licensing rules, the court said.
Jatuporn Promphan, a Peace TV executive, said the station would be back on air on Monday.
Peace TV-the station's official logo.
The firebrand political figure said he would suspend his personal show on Peace TV until the Administrative Court makes its final ruling to fully resolve the dispute over the NBTC's power.
"We will take three days to prepare and begin (TV) broadcasting again on Monday," he said.
The sharply polarised political channels were one of the first casualties of the widespread censorship imposed on broadcasters after the May, 2014, military coup.
A total ban was later lifted on the condition they stayed clear of controversial issues. In April the red shirt mouthpiece was accused by junta leaders of breaking the rules.
For reasons that are unclear, the NCPO itself refused to address the issue directly, and the NBTC was tasked with the censorship of Peace TV, starting the legal case that the court addressed on Thursday.
The NBTC refused to give any specific reasons for closing the station down, or to provide examples of how it broke the opaque "rules" that broadcasters are tasked with following.
The regulators' ruling that ordered Peace TV to stop broadcasting said that the station was causing "divisions and misunderstandings". After it stopped its satellite broadcasts, Peace TV continued to broadcast on the internet, including on a YouTube channel.
Mr Jatuporn's show has continued as well.
Since the coup, red shirt leaders have either renounced the junta and fled into self-exile or, like Mr Jatuporn, have agreed to refrain from their former in-your-face politics.
The core leadership of UDD has remained intact however, and most of the key figures were at the court on Thursday to hear the Peace TV decision.
The key leadership of the red shirts has remained active but well under the radar as it waits out military rule to resume active politicking. (Bangkok Post file photo)