NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea seeking a blanket ban on BBC operations in India over the release of its documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his alleged ‘involvement’ in 2022 Gujarat riots.
The Supreme Court, while dismissing the plea, seeking a blanket ban on BBC operations in India, termed it “completely misconceived”.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat in 2002, when the Gujarat riots had broken out, that led to loss of hundreds of lives.
The petitioners had moved the Supreme 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 a documentary affect the country,” the Supreme Court questioned, rejecting a petition by Hindu Sena chief Vishnu Gupta.
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Senior lawyer Pinki Anand, representing the petitioner, argued that the BBC was “deliberately maligning India’s image”.
The documentary is a “result of deep conspiracy against global rise of India and its Prime Minister”, the petition said.
“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 the BBC to destroy the social fabric of India,” it alleged.
The judges said: “How can the Supreme Court pass such orders? The writ petition is entirely misconceived and has no merit and is accordingly dismissed.”
India: The Modi Question
BBC documentary India: The Modi Question is a two-part documentary series aired by BBC about the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his relationship with the Muslim minority in the country.
The first part covers Modi’s early political career and his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, which occurred when he was chief minister of Gujarat.
It discusses documents found by the BBC, including a UK government report stating that the violence in Gujarat showed “all the hallmarks of an ethnic cleansing”.
The second part examines the activities of Modi’s administration following his re-election in 2019.
It covers a series of controversial policies, including the revocation of Kashmir’s autonomy and a new citizenship law.
It also depicts the violent response to protests against the new laws, and the aftermath of the 2020 Delhi riots.
The Government of India banned the documentary from being screened, describing it as propaganda, and asked social media sites to take down snippets of the documentary shared by users.
In response to the government’s ban, BBC said in a statement that the documentary had been researched ‘rigorously’ and that it depicted a “wide range of voices”, including the opinions of figures within BJP.
The ban was frequently circumvented, and several student organisations held screenings in various parts of the country.
The ban was criticised by opposition politicians as censorship and described as an assault on freedom of the press by human rights groups and opposition parties.