SC restrains Sudarshan TV from telecasting further episodes of ‘UPSC Jihad’
Satya Prakash
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, September 15
The Supreme Court on Tuesday restrained Sudarshan TV from telecasting further episodes of its controversial programme ‘UPSC Jihad’ that alleged Muslims were “infiltrating” civil services in a planned manner.
“Episodes broadcast till now show nature and objective of the program…Pending further orders of this court Sudarshan News stands injuncted from making any more broadcasts on this subject in any other name too,” a Bench led by Justice DY Chandrachud said.
“Edifice of a stable democratic society and observance of constitutional rights and duties are based on co-existence of communities. Any attempt to vilify a community must be viewed with disfavour,” it said.
Earlier, the SC had refused to ban the show and had issued notice to the Centre and Sudarshan TV on a petition filed by Firoz Iqbal Khan who alleged that the content of the programme would lead to communal tensions in India.
On Tuesday, the Bench said, “We are of the view that there is a change in circumstance.”
Senior advocate Anoop George Chaudhari pointed out on behalf of the petitioner that prima facie the programme violated laws and the Delhi High Court had already issued notice on the petition challenging the Information and Broadcasting Ministry’s decision to allow its telecast.
Chaudhari said out of the nine episodes, only two had been telecast so far.
“This is so insidious. Can this be tolerated in a free society?” the court wondered.
The Bench—which also included Justice KM Joseph—said it wanted to appoint a committee of five distinguished citizens who can come up with certain standards for the electronic media.
“We don’t want anybody of politically divisive nature…we need members who are of commendable stature,” it added.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta asserted, “Freedom of the journalist is supreme…It would be disastrous for any democracy to control the Press.”
Mehta, however, said the concerns raised by the top court had to be addressed.
The Bench pointed out that journalistic freedom was not absolute in India. “He (a Journalist) shares the same freedom as other citizens… We need journalists who are fair in their debates,” it said.
Senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing Sudarshan TV, wanted time to file reply to the petition.
At one stage, the Bench talked about transparency in funding of media outlets.
“I run a YouTube channel. How can my funding be ascertained?” Mehta wondered.
Describing the programme as “rabid” and “insinuating”, the Bench pointed out that Rule 6 of the Programme Code said cable TV channels can’t show anything that targeted a particular community.
“Your Lordships must have seen the programmes where “Hindu Terror” was highlighted. The question is to what extent can courts control the publication of content,” Mehta submitted.
The Bench said the problem with electronic media was TRP which was leading to sensationalism. It underlined the need to have enforceable standards to be followed by the media.
Amid raging controversy over Sudarshan TV programme “UPSC Jihad”, a group of former bureaucrats had on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the programme that alleged Muslims have “infiltrated” civil services in a planned manner.
‘Constitutional Conduct Group’, which included Amitabha Pande and six others, urged the court to give an authoritative ruling on hate speech.
