Today, On 27th August, A Delhi’s Rohini Court postponed the hearing on the case concerning the BBC documentary about Prime Minister Modi until December 18. The UK’s national broadcaster, the BBC, aired a two-part series criticizing Modi’s actions during his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister, specifically in relation to the 2002 Gujarat riots.
New Delhi: In a case related to the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Delhi’s Rohini Court on Tuesday adjourned the proceedings until December 18.
The case concerns the ban on the documentary titled “India: The Modi Question.”
In April, the court issued fresh summons to the BBC at its UK address. The UK’s national broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), aired a two-part series that criticized PM Modi’s tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
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The documentary sparked significant controversy and subsequently removed from select platforms. India strongly condemned the BBC documentary, labelling it a “propaganda piece” aimed at promoting a discredited narrative.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi during a weekly media briefing stated,
“We believe this is a propaganda piece intended to promote a specific discredited narrative. The bias, lack of objectivity, and frankly, the lingering colonial mindset are glaringly obvious,”
On Saturday, sources revealed that multiple YouTube videos sharing the first episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question” blocked following directives from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. In addition to YouTube videos, the government also ordered Twitter to block over 50 tweets containing links to these videos.
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Both YouTube and Twitter complied with the government’s directives, which reportedly issued by the Secretary of Information and Broadcasting on Friday, utilizing emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021.
In response to the controversy, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting directed the blocking of YouTube videos that shared the first episode of the documentary, along with over 50 tweets containing links to those videos.
Both YouTube and Twitter complied with the orders, which were issued under the emergency powers granted by the IT Rules, 2021. The situation remains a focal point of legal and political discussion, with the next hearing scheduled for December 18.