‘Absolutely misconceived’: Supreme Court dismisses plea seeking ban on BBC in India

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking to ban the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) from operating in India, alleging it takes an "anti-India" stance.

A bench comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice MM Sundersh dismissed the petition saying it was "completely ill-conceived". The suit alleged that the BBC was biased against India and the Indian government and that its documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "the result of a deep conspiracy against the global rise of India and its Prime Minister".

“A BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat violence, implicating Prime Minister Narendra Modi, not only reflects cold propaganda against Narendra Modi that damages his image, but is anti-Hindu propaganda by the BBC to destroy the social fabric of India. ,” the lawsuit alleged.

Hindu Sena president Vishnu Gupta and farmer Beerendra Kumar Singh filed an application in the Supreme Court following the broadcast of a BBC documentary on the Gujarat riots in 2002. The BBC documentary "India: The Modi Questions" was blocked from public view by the central government.

The central government's blocking of public access to the BBC documentary "India: The Modi Questions" has been challenged in the Supreme Court. One petition was jointly filed by journalist N Ram, advocate Prashant Bhushan and TMC MP Mahua Moitra and another petition was filed by advocate ML Sharma.

After hearing these pleas challenging the blocking of public access to a BBC documentary, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the central government and asked it to produce original files related to the blocking of public access to a BBC documentary titled "India: The Modi Question". The BBC documentary titled 'India: The Modi Question' was banned by the central government on social media and online channels, however it was screened in various colleges and universities by various organizations across the country.