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Fresh PIL filed in Supreme Court challenging centre’s decision to block BBC documentary on Gujarat Riots

The Supreme Court has received a fresh petition challenging the decision by Centre to block a BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots.

The Top court has already seized of two pleas which were filed by veteran journalist N Ram, and MP Mahua Moitra of Trinamool Congress activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan and lawyer M L Sharma on the issue.

A bench comprising of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice M M Sundresh on February 3,had taken note of the two pleas and has instructed the government for producing the original records related to its decision for blocking the documentary on the riots. The matters has been listed for hearing in April.

The fresh plea is third in order has been filed by one Mukesh Kumar, who is a social worker through his lawyers Roopesh Singh Bhadauria and Mareesh Pravir Sahay.

The plea requests for quashing the impugned notification which was dated January 20, 2023 and passed by the Ministry of Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules,2021″.

The notification has asked for a direction to the central government for ensuring the screening of the documentary without any law & order issue.

The plea said that the impugned office order has been issued in the most arbitrary manner with utter non-application of mind.

It was further said that it violates Articles 19(1) (2) (freedom of speech and expression), article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution.

The plea also says that blocking the documentary is a clear infringement of the freedom of speech and expression, right to opinion and public dialogue, discussion, debate and discourse.

The plea also questions the independence and security of press and cited example of how Income-Tax “surveys” were been conducted at BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai.

In the earlier petition, N Ram and others had requested for directions to stop the government from curbing their right to “receive and disseminate information” on the documentary.

As per the plea all citizens, including the press, have the fundamental right to view, form an informed opinion, critique, report on, and lawfully circulate the contents of the documentary as the right to freedom of speech and expression incorporates the right to receive and disseminate information…

The petition also seeks quashing of all orders that directly or indirectly refer to censoring the information, including those which are shared on social media.

Twitter Communications India Private Ltd and Google India have sought a direction for restoration of the tweets made by the petitioners.

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