The Supreme Court said it would hear the matter again on October 5.
New Delhi:
The highly controversial program on the private channel Sudarshan News TV, which showed episodes about “Muslims infiltrating” government services, prima facie violated the program’s code and a demonstration notice was sent to them, the Center told the Supreme Court today.
The channel has to respond on the issue, which comes amid heavy media scrutiny following unrestricted coverage of the Sushant Singh Rajput case by some channels, before September 28.
“The notice is detailed, it provides facts that go against the program code,” the Center told the superior court.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting guidelines for the 1994 Cable Television Network Rules say that no program should be broadcast that “contains attacks on religions or communities or visuals or words that disparage religious groups or promote attitudes. community “.
The content of the particular Sudarshan TV program had enraged the Supreme Court, which in a hearing last week called the program an attempt to vilify Muslims.
“You cannot target a community and mark it in a particular way,” said the high court, which put a temporary stop to the program “Bindas Bol”, which has seven of its nine episodes on air.
The program also puts a question mark on the Union Public Service Commission, which is in charge of prestigious competitive exams for entry to the highest echelons of government services.
“The presenter’s complaint is that a particular group is managing to enter the civil service,” said Judge DY Chandrachud. “How insidious is this? Such insidious charges put a question mark on UPSC exams, they sprinkle UPSC. Such allegations without factual basis, how can this be allowed? Can such programs be allowed in a free society “, said.
Today, the court ordered the Center to take care of your notification to Sudarshan News TV according to law and decide. The court also asked the Center to submit a report on its decision on the channel.
In response to the Center’s request to postpone the hearing until the channel responds, the court said it would hear the matter again on October 5. The program freeze will continue.
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