Delhi High Court issues notice to BBC over documentary on PM Modi
NEW DELHI,MAY 22 : The Delhi High Court on Monday issued a notice to British public broadcaster, BBC, in a defamation suit over its documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The two-part BBC documentary, ‘India: The Modi Question’, which is banned in India, claims it investigated certain aspects relating to the 2002 Gujarat riots when PM Modi was the state’s chief minister.
The notice was issued to the BBC in a defamation suit filed by a Gujarat-based NGO ‘Justice on Trial’.
Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the NGO, said the documentary “defamed” India and the whole system, including the judiciary.
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Justice Sachin Datta issued a summon and listed the case for further consideration in September.
“It is contended that the said documentary makes defamatory imputations and caste slurs on the reputation of the country and the judiciary, and against the Prime Minister of India. Issue notice to the respondents through all permissible modes,” Justice Datta said.
In January, the BJP government banned the BBC documentary on PM Modi. It had directed social media platforms Twitter and YouTube to block links to the documentary.
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The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) trashed the documentary as a “propaganda piece” that lacks objectivity and reflects a colonial mindset.
“We think this is a propaganda piece. This has no objectivity. This is biased. Do note that this hasn’t been screened in India. We don’t want to answer more on this so that it doesn’t get much dignity,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said earlier.
-PTI
