Supreme Court to hear pleas on BBC documentary row, asks petitioners seeking ban to mention case again

The Supreme Court will hear two petitions challenging the ban on the BBC documentary on Narendra Modi today after it was mentioned for urgent listing.

The documentary – India: The Modi Question – sparked controversy in the political corridors following Centre’s direction to Twitter and YouTube to take the link down from their platforms. Separate pleas were filed by Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra, senior journalist N Ram and advocate Prashant Bhushan, and advocate M L Sharma seeking direction to restrain the central government from censoring the BBC documentary.

The case will be heard by a bench comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna and M M Sundresh, headed by Chief Justice of India D Y. The bench has also asked the petitioners seeking ban on the documentary to mention the case again today for urgent listing.

Petitions against the ban on the documentary sought the top court’s direction to quash “all orders directly or indirectly censoring” the the information shared on social media.

“All citizens including the press have the fundamental right to view, form an informed opinion, critique, report on, and lawfully circulate the contents of the documentary,” it said.

Appearing for the Moitra, Ram and Bhushan, advocate C U Singh said last week that the Centre has invoked emergency powers under IT rules to remove documentary links from social media.