India’s Supreme Court will hear petitions challenging the Internet and Broadcasting Ministry’s decision to block BBC’s two-part documentary “India: The Modi Question” on YouTube and other social media platforms. The documentary, critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was labeled “propaganda” by the government and was censored.
Advocate ML Sharma filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), arguing that the decision to ban the documentary was “malafide, arbitrary, and unconstitutional.”
Another petition was filed by advocate Prashant Bhushan and journalist N Ram over the removal of tweets with links to the documentary. Senior advocate CU Singh also noted that some students in Ajmer were suspended for streaming the documentary.
The documentary is an investigative piece into the Gujarat riots in 2002, when Modi was the state’s chief minister. However, the government claimed the documentary is a “propaganda piece.”
