Supreme Court Asks Sudarshan TV How Will It Assuage Concerns

The Supreme Court, hearing the petition alleging hate speech against Muslims during a show on Sudarshan TV, observed that it is conscious of the implications a pre-telecast injunction can have as a legal precedent for freedom of speech and expression.

The court does not wish the come in the way of journalism and free speech, a bench of Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Indu Malhotra and Justice KM Joseph said, according to a Bar & Bench report. ‘'We know how an injunction order will be looked like. I am afraid that there will be injunctions galore and we don't want that to be the law of land. We want to give your client a good faith option."

The Supreme Court, after initially declining a pre-telecast ban, stayed telecast of future episodes on Tuesday after the petition alleged that four parts of the show went on air amounted to hate speech. The top court earlier said the prima facie found that the show appears to vilify Muslims.

On Friday, the bench questioned the presentation of the episodes. "A chart is shown as increase in Muslims from 2011 in UPSC services. A graphic of skull cap, beard and green-skinned person is shown again and again with flames in the chart," Bar and Bench quoted the court as saying.

Sudarshan News has been opposing the stay, maintaining that its show is an exercise in investigative journalism on the issue of national security. It argued that it is looking into the funding of Zakat foundation, which uses its funds to support aspirants for the civil services examinations.

"It is not that all contributors to the Zakat Foundation are terror-linked. However, some of the contributors are. The funds received by Zakat Foundation, in turn, are used to support aspirants for IAS, IPS or UPSC," says the affidavit by Sudarshan News.

‘'My thrust and endeavour is to expose anti-national activities and the manner in which some persons are being recruited in All India Civil Service under a design to induct persons with the financial support of international fundamentalists to achieve their oblique motives in India, which may pose a serious threat to the security of India," says the affidavit. There is no statement or message in the four episodes already broadcast that members of a particular community should not join UPSC.

The bench said it agrees that journalists have a right to their view but expressed displeasure at the presentation of the episodes.

"Whenever you show them joining civil services, you show ISIS. You want to say that Muslims joining civil services is a part of a deep-rooted conspiracy," Chandrachud observed, according to Bar & Bench. "Can the media be allowed to target whole sets of communities?"

"The flames, etc. needs to be taken off. We cannot dub the community and the picture of person wearing skull cap and green T-shirt with a tag of 500 crores," Justice Indu Malhotra observed.

The top court has asked the counsel for Sudarshan News to inform on how it will assuage the concerns of the bench before it decides on the issue of the stay on telecast of future episodes of the show.

The top court will hear the case next on Monday.

(With inputs from Bar & Bench)