By TNM Staff
The Supreme Court on Friday, 3 February, sought a response from the Union government on pleas challenging its decision to block a BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots titled ‘India: The Modi Question’. A bench consisting of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Justice M M Sundresh issued notices to the government and others on pleas filed by veteran journalist N Ram, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, and activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan. It also issued a notice on another petition filed by lawyer M L Sharma.
The petition by N. Ram, Prashant Bhushan, and Mahua Moitra cited that the Union government has violated the fundamental ‘right to know’ of the citizens by blocking the documentary, and pleads that the government be restrained from censoring it. The petitioners also urged the court to quash all orders that block online access to the documentary both directly and indirectly.
The apex court directed the government to produce original records relating to the takedown on the next date of hearing, which will be in April 2023. "We are issuing notices. A counter affidavit is to be filed within three weeks. Rejoinder within two weeks after that," the bench said.
The first part of the documentary, which was aired on January 17, traces the political journey of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his steady climb through the ranks of the country's ruling party—the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It also sheds light on Modi’s role in the 2002 riots, during which he served as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. The Union government on January 21, however, termed the documentary as ‘“propaganda” and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting reportedly invoked its emergency powers under the IT Rules 2021, directing both YouTube and Twitter to remove links to the documentary.
The second part of the BBC documentary aired on January 24 in the UK and examines the relationship of the Modi government with India’s Muslims.
With the Union government blocking the documentary, student groups and outfits affiliated with various opposition parties decided to screen the documentary in university spaces. This did not go down well with the university administrations which resorted to various methods like cutting electricity and using internet jammers to prevent the screening as well as detaining student union leaders prior to the screening.
With inputs from PTI