‘Completely misconceived’: SC dismisses PIL seeking ban on BBC over Modi documentary

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Feb 10, 2023: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking a blanket ban on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in India, calling the petition “completely misconceived”.

 

The petitioners had moved the top court seeking a complete ban on the BBC over its documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots and then chief minister Narendra Modi’s alleged role in them.

"How can you even argue this? It is completely misconceived. How can you ask court to ban the BBC?" Justice Sanjiv Khanna said.

The PIL, filed by Hindu Sena president Vishnu Gupta, alleged that the BBC has been biased against India and the Indian government. It also alleged that the BBC documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’ is the result of a deep conspiracy against the global rise of India and its prime minister.

"The documentary film by BBC relating to Gujarat violence 2002 implicating Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not only reflective of anti-Narendra Modi cold propaganda broadcast to tarnish his image alone but this is anti-Hinduism propaganda by BBC to destroy the social fabric of India," the plea said.

India: The Modi Question, which aired in the UK last month, had set off a massive row in India. The Ministry of External Affairs had trashed the documentary as a "propaganda piece" that lacks objectivity and reflects a colonial mindset.

The government had directed social media platforms Twitter and YouTube to block links to the BBC documentary, which claims it investigated certain aspects relating to the 2002 Gujarat riots when PM Modi was the chief minister of the state.

The move had sparked an outcry, with opposition parties accusing the Centre of censorship. In defiance of the government’s order, student bodies and youth wings of opposition parties screened the documentary at college campuses and public space in various states.