A petition has been filed by Advocate ML Sharma calling the ban on ‘India: The Modi Question’ arbitrary and unconstitutional. Senior journalist N Ram and advocate Prashant Bhushan also filed a separate petition on taking down tweets related to the BBC Documentary.
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear the petition challenging the ban on February 6. The plea came up for oral mentioning before a bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and justices P S Narasimha and JB Pardiwala.
Senior advocate C.U. Singh, for Mr. Ram and Mr. Bhushan, orally submitted that their tweets were taken down after invoking emergency powers under the Information Technology Rules.
“The students who have already watched the documentary, critical of then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the background of the 2002 riots, have been suspended at Rajasthan Central University in Ajmer”, Mr.Singh stated.
Meanwhile, Mr.Sharma has argued that blocking public viewership of the two-part BBC Documentary was arbitrary, unconstitutional, and voilates the fundamental right of free speech.
The Center recently ordered social media platforms Twitter and Youtube to block links of the two-part documentary on PM Modi. The MEA has trashed the documentary as a ‘mere propaganda’ that lacks objectivity and reflects the colonial mindset.