NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday issued summons to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on a defamation case filed by a Gujarat-based NGO seeking to sue the global media giant over its documentary, titled ‘India: The Modi Question’, for allegedly casting a slur on the reputation of India, its judiciary and PM Narendra Modi.
Issuing notice to the respondents “through all permissible modes”, including BBC (UK), BBC (India), a single-bench judge of Justice Sachin Datta posted the matter for hearing on September 15. “... It is averred that the aforesaid conduct of the respondents is actionable,” the judge noted.
The petitioner, Justice on Trial, said BBC (India) is the local operation office and BBC (UK) has released the two-part documentary, which has now banned in India. Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the NGO, said the defamation suit against the BBC is in relation to the documentary, which has “defamed” India and the whole system including the judiciary. He contended that the documentary also makes insinuations against the PM.
It was argued on behalf of the plaintiff that the documentary makes defamatory imputation and cast a slur on the reputation of the country. On May 3, a city court had issued summons to BBC, Wikimedia Foundation and US-based Internet Archive in another defamation suit. In a related development, the HC set aside Delhi University’s order that debarred a Congress student leader for a year from taking exams for his alleged role in screening of the docu.