Delhi HC issues summons to BBC in defamation suit over Modi documentary

The Delhi High Court has issued summons to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in a follow-up to the defamation case filed by a Gujarat-based NGO which claimed that the documentary cast a slur on the reputation of India and its judiciary as well as that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The bench consisting of Justice Sachin Dutta issued summons to defendants including BBC and listed them for further consideration in September month.

“It is contended that the said documentary makes defamatory imputations and caste slurs on the reputation of the country and the judiciary, and against the Prime Minister of India. Issue notice to the respondents through all permissible modes,” Dutta said.

Defending the plaintiff, Senior Advocate Harish Salve submitted the complaint claiming that the two-part documentary defames India and its judiciary alike.

Recently Delhi’s Rohini court had also issued summons to the BBC, the Wikimedia Foundation and Internet Archive on a plea seeking a direction restraining the defendants from publishing the BBC documentary based on PM Modi.

In this case, petitioner Binay Kumar Singh urged the court to pass an order to stop the release of the documentary series, “India: The Modi Question.”

The petitioner also asked the court to ban any any other defamatory material pertaining to the Plaintiff, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa HinduParishad (VHP) on the platforms of Wikimedia and Internet Archive or any other online or offline platforms.

MEA Arindam Bagchi had said earlier, “We think this is a propaganda piece. This has no objectivity. This is biased. Do note that this hasn’t been screened in India. We don’t want to answer more on this so that it doesn’t get much dignity.”

With inputs from agencies

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