The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear on February 6 pleas challenging the Centre's decision to block a BBC documentary, 'India: The Modi Question' on the 2002 Gujarat riots.
A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala decided to hear the matter next Monday.
Senior advocate Chander Uday Singh, appearing for journalist N Ram, advocate Prashant Bhushan and TMC MP Mahua Moitra, contended the tweets related to the documentary were blocked using the emergency power.
He added how students from Ajmer were suspended for streaming the documentary. "It is about the use of emergency powers to block clips and tweets, please consider it," Singh said.
"We will list it for hearing," the CJI said. Advocate M L Sharma, who also filed the petition separately, mentioned it by terming the ban as "malafide, arbitrary and unconstitutional".
He sought a direction to lift the ban and examination of the documentary so that the accused in Gujarat Riots could be convicted.
"On January 21, 2023, the Centre invoked rule 16 of IT rule 2021 and prohibited citizen of India from watching BBC documentary consisting/ disclosing true facts
of Gujarat riot 2002, without adopting constitutional provisions, causing serious injury to the constitutional systems," Sharma contended.
He sought an order to call and examine BBC documentary Part-I and II and accordingly take proper action for criminal justice under Sections 146, 302, 376, 425 and 120-B and others of IPC against the accused, who were directly or indirectly involved in any manner in the Gujarat riots and to provide complete justice to the citizens.
(Published 30 January 2023, 05:35 IST)
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