The Supreme Court has given notice to the Centre and requested a report on an appeal against the suspension of a controversial BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the allegations relating to the Gujarat riots in 2022 within three weeks. The Supreme Court asked for a copy of the original file containing the directive to take the documentary off the market.
Supreme Court issues notice to Centre on an appeal against ban on controversial BBC documentary
The court was responding to a petition from Trainamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan, and seasoned journalist N Ram requesting that the Centre stop censoring the documentary. The petitions contest the use of emergency powers to block the documentary and take down social media links. According to a related appeal filed by lawyer ML Sharma, the Center never formally announced the blocking decision, which he described as “malafide, capricious, and unconstitutional.”
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Government calls documentary a “propaganda piece” that lacks objectivity and reflects colonial mindset
On January 21, the Center issued directives for the blocking of various YouTube videos and Twitter messages containing links to the divisive documentary “India: The Modi Question” under the emergency provisions of the Information Technology Rules, 2021. According to the petitioners, the Centre must publish the emergency blocking orders within 48 hours as per the guidelines.
Following the ban, the two-part BBC series was shared by a number of opposition leaders, including Mahua Moitra, and opposition groups and student organisations held screenings for the general public. After being denied permission to hold screenings, students fought with college administrators and the police on various campuses. Some of them were also briefly jailed.
After British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak distanced himself from the series and said he “doesn’t agree with the characterisation” of his Indian counterpart in the UK’s parliament by Pakistan-origin MP Imran Hussain, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry reportedly instructed Twitter and YouTube to block the first episode of the BBC documentary.
The documentary has been branded by the Government as “propaganda” that lacks objectivity and exhibits a colonial mentality.
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