New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has summoned British broadcaster BBC in a defamation case pertaining to its two-part documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Filed by a Gujarat-based non-governmental organisation, the suit claims that the documentary “India: The Modi Question” casts a slur on the reputation of India, its judiciary and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the state’s chief minister when the riots took place.
The bench of Justice Sachin Dutta on Monday issued summons to the defendants, including BBC, and listed the matter for further consideration in September.
Besides BBC (UK), Justice Datta also served notice on BBC (India), seeking its response on the suit filed by Gujarat-based NGO “Justice for Trial”.
Appearing for the NGO, senior advocate Harish Salve told the court that the documentary defamed India and the whole system, including the judiciary. He added it also made insinuations against the Prime Minister.
The documentary was released in the United Kingdom on 17 January, and within a week unauthorised clips started circulating in India, which prompted the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to ban it. The Information Ministry also used its emergency powers to block over 50 links of the documentary on YouTube and Twitter.
The Ministry of External Affairs called the two-part series “propaganda”.
Ever since, attempts have been made to screen the documentary, particularly across university and college campuses. This did not go down well with authorities, resulting in scuffles and detention of students. Multiple students’ unions have criticised the ban, with one saying “the block on the documentary is a block on our right to free media and education”.
Meanwhile, a trial court in Delhi recently issued summons to BBC, Wikimedia Foundation and Internet Archive in a defamation suit filed by BJP leader Binay Kumar Singh, who has sought to restrain them from publishing the documentary or any other material related to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
In February, the Supreme Court had dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a complete ban on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and BBC India from operating in Indian territory. An apex court bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and M.M. Sundresh dismissed the petition filed by right-wing Hindu Sena’s president Vishnu Gupta as “absolutely misconceived”.