SC agrees to hear plea challenging Centre’s decision to ban BBC documentary on PM Modi

mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, Jan 30, 2023: The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a petition challenging the Centre’s decision to ban the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 2002 Gujarat riots.

 

A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala took note of the submissions of lawyer M L Sharma and senior advocate CU Singh seeking urgent listing of their separate PILs on the issue.
A PIL was filed by advocate ML Sharma calling the ban on ’India: The Modi Question’ malafide, arbitrary and unconstitutional.

Another petition filed by senior journalist N Ram and advocate Prashant Bhushan about taking down tweets with links to the BBC documentary will also be heard on Monday.

Senior advocate C U Singh appearing for N Ram and Prashant Bhushan mentioned how their tweets were deleted allegedly by using emergency powers. He also said that students in Ajmer were rusticated for streaming the BBC documentary. "We will list," the CJI said.

The Centre recently directed social media platforms Twitter and YouTube to block links to the documentary titled India: The Modi Question. The Ministry of External Affairs has trashed the documentary as a “propaganda piece” that lacks objectivity and reflects a colonial mindset.

Courtesy: India Today