Supreme Court Dismisses Hindu Sena President's Plea To Ban BBC In India

The Supreme Court today (Friday) dismissed a petition seeking a complete ban on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in India.

A division bench of Justices Sanjeev Khanna and MM Sundaresh passed the order while hearing a petition by Hindu Sena president Vishnu Gupta and Birender Kumar Singh.

The bench said that the writ petition is totally misconceived and has no merit, hence it is dismissed. The petition alleged that the BBC was biased against India and the Modi government.

The documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi is part of a deep-rooted conspiracy against India's global rise and against the Prime Minister. The inclusion of Prime Minister Modi in a BBC documentary about the 2002 Gujarat violence tarnishes his image. The petition alleged that anti-Hindu propaganda is being spread by the BBC.

On February 3, the Supreme Court sought a response from the Centre and others on separate petitions challenging the decision to block the documentary. The supreme court had issued a notice on the petitions.

The pleas, on which the top court issued a notice, have been filed by veteran journalist N Ram, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan, and lawyer M L Sharma.