HC notice to BBC on plea for damages claiming its documentary cast slur on India

The Delhi High Court on Monday issued notice to the British Broadcasting Corporation BBC on a plea by an NGO seeking damages claiming its documentary India The Modi Question casts a slur on the reputation of India and makes false and defamatory imputations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian judiciaryBesides BBC UK Justice Sachin Datta also issued notice to BBC India on the plea filed by Gujaratbased NGO Justice On TrialThe plea said BBC UK is the national broadcaster of the United Kingdom and has released the news documentary India The Modi Question which has two episodes and BBC India is its local operations office It said the two episodes have been published in January 2023The petitioner has sought damages of Rs 10000 crore in favour of the NGO and against the defendants on account of the iquestloss of reputation and goodwill caused to the Honble Prime Minister of India the Government of India the Government of the State of Gujarat as it was during the period of the Gujarat Riots and also the people of IndiaThe documentary relates to the 2002 Gujarat riots when Modi was the states chief ministerThe high court said Issue notice to the respondents through all permissible modes and listed it for further hearing on September 25The government had banned the documentary soon after it was releasedAlso readBharatiya Janata Party requests Jammu amp Kashmirs political leaders to welcome G20 delegatesSenior advocate Harish Salve appearing for the NGO said the suit against the BBC is in relation to the documentary which has defamed India and the whole system including the judiciaryThe plaintiff organisation which is stated to be a society registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860 and also registered as a Public trust under the provisions of the Bombay Public Trust 1950 has filed the suit for damages and has also sought permission to file as an indigent personIt was contended that the documentary publication contains content which casts a slur on the reputation of the country and also makes false and defamatory imputations and insinuations against the Prime Minister of India the Indian Judiciary and the Indian criminal justice systemIt said the conduct of the broadcaster is actionable and has made them liable to damagesThe NGO has filed an Indigent Person Application IPA which enables an indigent person to file a lawsuitThe plea said for an order of damages the relief is provisionally valued for the purposes of court fees at Rs 10000 crore and the plaintiff has filed an application under Order 33 Rules 1 and 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure CPC seeking permission to sue as an indigent person since it does not have sufficient means to pay the court fee prescribed by lawUnder the CPC a plaintiff is obligated to deposit a certain amount as court feesOrder 33 of the CPC deals with filing of suits by indigent personsIt says a person is an indigent person if he is not possessed of sufficient means to enable him to pay the fee prescribed by law for the plaint in such a suitThe plea claimed the disparaging and defamatory statements of the defendant have caused grave and irreparable injury to the reputation of and denuded the goodwill that has been built by the Prime Minister of India the Government of India the Government of the State of Gujarat as it was during the period of the Gujarat Riots and also the people of IndiaThe quantum of damages can be ascertained only after a fuller enquiry of the extent of damage caused However for the present the plaintiff values the damages at Rs 10000 croreThe Centre had earlier issued directions for blocking multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the BBC documentary which was described by the Ministry of External Affairs as a propaganda piece that lacks objectivity and reflects a colonial mindsetThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever