"Absolutely Misconceived" : Supreme Court Dismisses Hindu Sena President's Plea To Ban BBC In India

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition which sought to ban the operations of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in India alleging that it was taking an "anti-India" position. The petition was filed by Hindu Sena President Vishnu Gupta in the wake of BBC airing a documentary critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which has been blocked by the Central Government.A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and MM Sundersh dismissed the petition by terming it as "absolutely misconceived".As soon as the matter was taken, Justice Khanna said "this is totally misconceived". In response, Senior Advocate Pinky Anand, representing the petitioner, said, "Kindly see the background when the documentary has happened. Today you have a position, when you have an Indian as the Prime Minister of UK. India is rising as an economic power".Expressing surprise at the argument, Justice Khanna asked, "How can this be argued? You want us to put complete censorship? What is this?". The senior counsel requested the bench to post the matter along with the other petitions which challenge the Centre's order blocking public access to the documentary "India : The Modi Question". However, the bench did not agree and dismissed the petition saying "The writ petition is entirely misconceived; has no merit and is dismissed.The petition, filed through Advocate, Barun Kumar Sinha, also sought directions to the NIA to initiate investigation against the ‘anti-India and anti-Indian Government reporting/documentary films/short films including its employee journalist in India’.As per the plea, the cause of action arose when BBC released and aired the controversial documentary film regarding the 2002 Godhra riots.It is claimed that the peace and national integrity prevailing in India is being hampered by the BBC. The petition submits -“Indian’s overall growth has picked up momentum since 2014 under the Prime Ministership of Sh. Narendra Modi, is not being digested by anti India lobby, media particularly BBC. Therefore, the BBC has been biased against India and Indian Government"Referring to various news articles published by BBC which relate to India, it is alleged that BBC has been indulging against anti India and anti Indian Government propaganda in post independent regime India.It appears that the petitioners had submitted a representation to the MHA on 27.01.2023 requesting it to impose a ban on BBC. However, the Union Ministry has not taken action since.With respect to the documentary, The Modi Question, the petition submits -“...[it] is result of deep conspiracy against global rise of India and its Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi. The first part of documentary is bases on the Gujarat violence in 2002 which started after 59 Hindu Karsavaks were burnt alive at Godhra Railway Station while they were returning from Ayodhya. The Central government has justifiably blocked the documentary using its emergency powers under the Information Technology Rules, 2022.”It also relies on the 2022 Supreme Court judgment endorsing the SIT probe which ruled out larger conspiracy by state functionaries in the Gujarat riots.Case Title : Vishnu Gupta and another versus Union of India | W.P.(C) No. 151/2023Click Here To Read/Download Order

"Absolutely Misconceived" : Supreme Court Dismisses Hindu Sena President's Plea To Ban BBC In India

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