Supreme Court notice on BBC Documentary ban

February 4, 2023

The issue is related to the 2002 riots that happened in Gujarat. It is also called 2002 violence. A train was burnt in Godhra and more than 58 Hindu pilgrims died. The pilgrims were all returning from Ayodhya. This incident instigated the three-day intense riots in Gujarat. More than 1044 people were dead and several injured. PM Modi was the then CM of Gujarat. Mr Modi was accused of condoning the violence. A Congress party member filed a case against him in the SC. The case was investigated by SIT and SC relieved him from the case. in 2022. Later a documentary was released by the BBC network on the riots. The Government of India banned the release of the documentary. A Public Interest Litigation was filed by Mr Prashanth Bhushan and others against the ban. To this, the Supreme Court has now issued a notice.

What is the SC notice saying?

The notice is asking for reasons for the ban. Why did GoI ban the documentary? It is demanding for explanations to make the right decision

What is Bhushan’s and others’ point of view?

According to them, the ban is against Article 19(1). It is the Right to freedom of speech and expression.

Judicial arguments for GoI

The GoI used Rule 16 of the IT Act to ban the documentary. What is rule 16 saying? It gives powers t the GoI to take actions on the basis of security.

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