Fifteen days to report back: NCW Takes Suo Motu Cognizance of a nine-second news clip that linked folk singer Neha Singh Rathore to an alleged sex racket, which the channel that ran it has since called factually incorrect.
New Delhi: The National Commission for Women (NCW) on October 19 asked the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to ensure “immediate and time-bound” action by media regulators over a digital news clip that linked folk singer Neha Singh Rathore to an alleged sex racket. It wants an action taken report within 15 days [Suo motu cognizance by the National Commission for Women of a news report concerning Neha Singh Rathore].
NCW Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar wrote to the Ministry asking that the Press Council of India, the Electronic Media Monitoring Centre, the News Broadcasters and Digital Association and the Digital Publishers Content Grievance Council be directed to act under the Information Technology Rules, 2021. A post by the Commission on X described the content as allegedly defamatory.
What worries the Commission
The Commission wants safeguards against gender-based character assassination and the digital harassment of women. In its words, media freedom must be exercised responsibly, with due regard for factual accuracy and for women’s dignity, privacy and reputation.
Who can act, and under what law
The NCW is a statutory body under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990, and its powers include taking suo motu notice of matters affecting women’s rights. It does not regulate broadcasters, which is why its letter asks the Ministry to move the regulatory and self-regulatory bodies. Digital news publishers come under Part III of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which lays down a code of ethics and a three-tier grievance mechanism that includes self-regulating bodies.
The clip, the apology and the singer’s response
On October 17, ABP News put a nine-second clip on its digital platform. Its caption and Hindi headline suggested that a hostel linked to Rathore was the site of a sex racket and that police had raided it. The clip spread fast, and many users asked what it was based on. Within hours the same day, the network posted a clarification on X saying the item was factually incorrect, expressed regret and apologised.
Rathore has not accepted the apology. She said an apology cannot undo the harm of defamatory content once it is published, that the report had hurt her mental well-being, and that she wanted justice and not regret. She also said the report was an attempt to humiliate her for questioning the government, and that she would take legal action against the channel. That is her account, while the network’s stated position is that the report was a factual error. Neither account has been tested before a court, and LawChakra has not seen any report of an FIR or a court case in the matter.
Defamation, as a separate question
Defamation is an offence under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and also a civil wrong. Whether the clip meets that test is for a court to decide, and this report expresses no view on it.
Matter: Suo motu cognizance by the National Commission for Women of a news report concerning Neha Singh Rathore
Authority: National Commission for Women (Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar)
Date: October 19, 2026
Appearances: Not applicable (statutory body action, not a court proceeding)