SC Demands Explanation on Censorship of Controversial BBC Film on 2002 Gujarat Riots

New Delhi (India), 3rd Feb 2023: The Supreme Court has directed the Center to file an affidavit within three weeks with the original record of its decision to take down tweets circulating links to the controversial BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question” on the 2002 Gujarat riots.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and MM Sundresh was hearing two petitions filed jointly by MP Mahua Moitra, journalist N Ram, and advocates Prashant Bhushan and ML Sharma, seeking to quash “all orders directly or indirectly censoring” the information, including those shared on social media.

The petitioners claimed that the BBC documentary has “recorded facts,” which are also “evidence” and can be used to further the cause of justice for the victims.

On January 21, the Center issued directions for blocking multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the controversial documentary.

The court declined to be dragged into the issue of students being punished for airing the documentary, saying the proceedings before it will confine to legal arguments. The matter is listed for the next hearing in April.