After the Delhi High Court stayed the broadcast of a controversial programme on Sudarshan News TV on August 28, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has permitted its broadcast, reported Live Law.
However, the Ministry has directed the channel to ensure that the show does not violate any law.
The Ministry said in its notification that the channel “is hereby directed that the proposed programme to be telecast does not violate any of the programme codes.”
“If any violation of the programme code is found, action as per law will be taken,” the notification added.
Suresh Chavhanke, the channel’s editor-in-chief, took to Twitter to announce that the show would now air on Friday at 8 PM.
“UPSC Jihad”, the special episode of the channel’s Bindass Bol show is, the channel said, an “exposé” on the increase in the number of Muslims who qualified the Civil Services exam 2020.
The show was first scheduled to be aired on August 28 at 8 PM. Before that, a trailer of the show shared by Chavhanke with a hashtag #UPSCJIHAD referred to students of Jamia Millia Islamia who qualified Civil Services examination this year as “jihadis” trying to “infiltrate” the Civil Services.
The 48-second trailer faced widespread criticism for being communal and anti-Muslim even from IAS and IPS associations.
After a group of students from the university filed a petition arguing that the trailer openly engages in hate speech and defamation against the students of Jamia Milia Islamia and the Muslim community, and cited security concerns, including the threat of lynching, the Delhi High Court stayed the broadcast of the show on August 28 agreeing that the trailer is violative of the Programme Code set out under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995.
Subsequently, the High Court disposed of the petition with a direction to the Central Government to finally decide on the matter after seeking a response from the channel.