NBTC turmoil intensifies after Dr Saran wins the right to challenge his removal but gains no court protection. Anutin seeks his ouster, three commissioners reject his authority and eight failed meetings leave urgent regulatory business piling up.
Thailand’s communications regulator is locked in a deepening leadership crisis after Dr Saran Boonbaichaiyapruk won the right to fight his removal in court. However, he has not been restored as NBTC chairman, and the ruling against him remains in force. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has already moved to remove him, three commissioners say he cannot legally chair meetings, and eight meetings have failed or been postponed. The dispute has now left major broadcasting and telecommunications business piling up, while rival camps prepare for another showdown at the September 9 meeting.
Chaos continues to reign at the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) amid a deepening battle over its chairmanship. Embattled Chairman Dr Saran Boonbaichaiyapruk has won the right to have his legal challenge heard.
However, the Supreme Administrative Court has not restored him to office. Nor has it suspended the selection committee ruling against him. Instead, the decision has opened another phase in a damaging institutional standoff.
Three commissioners insist Dr Saran can no longer legally chair the NBTC. They want the remaining six commissioners to carry on without him. Separately, the government has already moved to remove Dr Saran. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul signed a submission seeking a royal command removing him as chairman and commissioner. Dr Saran, meanwhile, is fighting the selection committee decision through the Administrative Court.
NBTC faces a mounting regulatory backlog as eight meetings fail amid bitter dispute over Dr Saran
The dispute comes as the NBTC faces pressing regulatory business. It oversees Thailand’s television, radio and telecommunications industries. Yet all three sectors are being transformed by technological change. International media and digital platforms can increasingly reach Thai audiences directly from abroad. Consequently, traditional government control faces an industry operating across national and technological boundaries. At the same time, major regulatory business has been piling up.
Eight NBTC meetings have failed or been postponed during the confrontation. The September 3 meeting became the eighth. Nonetheless, Dr Saran subsequently called another meeting for Wednesday, September 9. That immediately sharpened the dispute over his powers. Three commissioners maintain he has no legal authority to chair it.
They are Professor Emeritus Dr Pirongrong Ramasoot, Suphach Supachalasai and Air Marshal Thanaphan Raicharoen. On September 4, Dr Pirongrong took direct action. She sent an urgent memorandum to the NBTC Secretary. It demanded an immediate meeting of the remaining commissioners. In addition, she called on NBTC officials to facilitate the meeting and restart the commission’s work.
Her intervention followed Supreme Administrative Court Order No. 952/2569, dated August 31. The case concerns Dr Saran’s challenge against the NBTC Selection Committee. Previously, the Central Administrative Court had refused to accept his lawsuit. The Supreme Administrative Court overturned that decision. Accordingly, it ordered the lower court to accept the case for consideration.
Dr Saran wins right to pursue court challenge but ruling does not restore his powers as chairman
Dr Saran therefore secured an important procedural victory. Crucially, however, he did not win the underlying case. The Supreme Administrative Court did not overturn the selection committee decision. It did not restore his powers as chairman either. Most importantly, it did not suspend the ruling against him. That distinction now sits at the centre of the NBTC battle.
Dr Pirongrong argues that the selection committee decision therefore remains legally effective. According to her memorandum, Dr Saran was notified of the ruling on July 22. She says it became final and binding from that date. As a result, she maintains Dr Saran cannot perform the chairman’s duties. She also argues that the remaining commissioners can legally continue without him.
The NBTC Office takes a different position. It maintains Dr Saran retains authority to convene meetings while his legal challenge remains unresolved. In effect, the dispute now reaches far beyond Dr Saran’s personal position. It directly affects who can call meetings and how the regulator can function.
The original case centres on Dr Saran’s continuing medical work at Ramathibodi Hospital. The Senate approved him as an NBTC commissioner on December 20, 2021. Approved candidates then had to relinquish incompatible employment by January 11, 2022. Records considered by the selection committee showed Dr Saran continued treating patients after that deadline.
Medical work nearly three months beyond deadline drives selection committee case against NBTC chairman
He reportedly remained an hourly-paid physician at Ramathibodi Hospital until April 12, 2022. That was about three months beyond the deadline. Notably, it was also one day before his royal appointment took effect. The selection committee subsequently examined whether his continued medical employment breached statutory qualification requirements.
In July, the committee unanimously ruled against Dr Saran. It found he possessed a prohibited characteristic under Section 8(2) of the Frequency Allocation Organisation Act. Its conclusion went substantially further than finding an employment breach. Specifically, it determined that Dr Saran failed to remove that prohibited characteristic within the required period.
The committee consequently deemed him to have waived his right to become an NBTC commissioner. That conclusion struck at his membership of the commission itself. By extension, it also threatened his position as chairman. The dispute then moved simultaneously into the courts, the government and the NBTC.
Dr Saran challenged the selection committee decision before the Administrative Court. Initially, the Central Administrative Court refused to accept his lawsuit. The government then moved ahead with the removal process. On August 11, Prime Minister Anutin signed a submission seeking Dr Saran’s removal. It sought a royal command removing him as both chairman and commissioner.
Prime Minister Anutin seeks Dr Saran’s removal as Supreme Administrative Court accepts his appeal
In response, Dr Saran appealed the Central Administrative Court decision. His appeal succeeded before the Supreme Administrative Court. The higher court found that his challenge should be heard. It noted that the selection committee decision adversely affected his legal position. Moreover, it could cost him his office and prevent him from performing NBTC duties.
That finding gave Dr Saran sufficient standing to pursue his lawsuit. Even so, it did not determine whether the selection committee acted lawfully. The decision also did not cancel the committee ruling. No provisional court protection has suspended it either. For that reason, the legal effect of the July decision remains pivotal.
On another front, Deputy Prime Minister Pakorn Nilprapunt addressed the government’s position. He said acceptance of Dr Saran’s lawsuit did not extinguish the administrative decision being challenged. He also said the government need not withdraw its removal submission. Thus, the process initiated by Prime Minister Anutin remains in place.
The court decision then produced another confrontation. This involved the NBTC Office and the Administrative Court Office. The NBTC Office issued an explanation following the Supreme Administrative Court decision. Its interpretation appeared to support Dr Saran’s position. The Administrative Court Office then publicly challenged parts of that explanation.
NBTC apologises after court office challenges its account of Supreme Administrative Court decision
In particular, the court office said parts of the NBTC statement were inaccurate. Arguments advanced by Dr Saran had been presented as findings by the Supreme Administrative Court. The Administrative Court Office therefore issued a public correction. Subsequently, the NBTC Office apologised on September 4 and amended its explanation.
Significantly, the NBTC Office acknowledged an important limitation in the Supreme Administrative Court order. The court had not decided whether the selection committee possessed authority to rule against Dr Saran. That substantive issue therefore remains before the courts. Even so, the absence of a final judgment has produced competing interpretations inside the regulator.
Meanwhile, the operational consequences have become increasingly serious. Eight meetings have failed or been postponed. As a result, meeting agendas have accumulated for more than a month. Dr Pirongrong highlighted the backlog in her September 4 memorandum. She called for the remaining commissioners to meet immediately and resume the board’s work.
Initially, she sought a meeting on Friday, September 4. Alternatively, she proposed one during the following week on a mutually convenient date. Her memorandum cited the growing backlog of meeting agendas. It also stressed continuing public services across radio, television and telecommunications. Nevertheless, her proposed meeting did not appear on the NBTC’s daily schedule.
Six commissioners may continue NBTC work under law as rival camps clash over chairman’s authority
The institutional deadlock therefore continued. Dr Pirongrong bases her position partly on Section 20, Paragraph 3 of the Frequency Allocation Organisation Act. That provision permits remaining commissioners to continue working when a commissioner leaves office. At least four commissioners must remain. In this case, six commissioners remain apart from Dr Saran.
On that basis, Dr Pirongrong argues the six can legally carry out the commission’s work. She also points to the absence of temporary court protection for Dr Saran. Hence, she maintains the July selection committee decision remains effective. Commissioners Suphach and Air Marshal Thanaphan support that position.
Together, the three maintain Dr Saran cannot legally chair NBTC meetings. Conversely, the NBTC Office continues recognising his authority to convene them. That leaves the regulator with two fundamentally different interpretations of who can run its board.
One side considers Dr Saran unable to perform the chairman’s duties. It wants the remaining six commissioners to proceed. The other continues recognising Dr Saran’s authority to call meetings. In parallel, the government has already initiated formal steps to remove and replace him.
Consumer Council excludes Dr Saran as court fight and government removal process continue in parallel
The dispute has also moved outside the NBTC. The Consumer Council of Thailand arranged September 7 talks concerning major broadcasting issues. These include the future of free television and digital television. Post-merger regulatory measures are also due for discussion. Strikingly, six of the seven NBTC commissioners were invited. Dr Saran was the only commissioner excluded.
At the same time, his substantive legal challenge is moving forward. The Central Administrative Court must hear it following the Supreme Administrative Court order. More immediately, Dr Saran has sought provisional protection while proceedings continue. No such protection has yet been granted.
Accordingly, no court has suspended the selection committee ruling. That fact remains central to commissioners seeking to proceed without Dr Saran. Yet the courts have not finally determined whether the selection committee acted lawfully. They have also not finally settled the consequences for Dr Saran’s NBTC membership.
For its part, the government has not reversed course. Prime Minister Anutin has not withdrawn the submission seeking a royal command. The removal process therefore remains alive while Dr Saran pursues his court challenge. At the same time, the NBTC remains divided over its immediate leadership.
Eight failed meetings leave NBTC backlog growing as September 9 showdown approaches over Chair
The chronology leaves several facts clear. Dr Saran has secured the right to challenge the selection committee in court. However, he has not secured an order overturning its decision. He has not received provisional protection either. Separately, the government has already moved to remove him.
Inside the regulator, three commissioners insist the remaining six must resume work without Dr Saran. Eight meetings have already failed or been postponed. Consequently, regulatory agendas have accumulated for more than a month. The NBTC Office has also apologised after inaccurately explaining the Supreme Administrative Court decision.
Against that background, another NBTC meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 9. Dr Saran called the meeting. Yet three commissioners maintain he has no legal authority to chair it. The same dispute that blocked previous meetings therefore remains unresolved.
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For now, the NBTC faces three simultaneous fronts. Dr Saran’s challenge is proceeding through the Administrative Court. The government’s removal process remains in place. Inside the commission, rival positions persist over who can legally run the regulator.
The immediate battle is therefore over more than Dr Saran’s title. It concerns whether the remaining commissioners can lawfully conduct pending NBTC business. The courts have not yet delivered a final judgment on his challenge. Until then, the regulator faces another scheduled meeting with its chairmanship still contested.
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