The Supreme Court on Friday sought the response of the Central government on a plea challenging government orders to block the BBC Documentary titled, ‘India: The Modi Question’ relating to the 2002 Gujarat Riots on online platforms and social media

The matter will be heard in April 2023.

The present petitions before the Supreme Court

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Mahua Moitra and journalist N Ram had earlier moved the Supreme Court challenging the Modi government's orders to ban the BBC Documentary on 2002 Gujarat riots.

According to the petitioners, the ban on the controversial two-part documentary is akin to censoring freedom of speech and expression. The plea drawn on similar lines as the one by Advocate ML Sharma calls the action by the executive an arbitrary one. Besides seeking a lifting of the ban, Sharma also sought an investigation into those responsible for failing to contain the riots. 

The Central government's stand on the ban so far

The Indian government has claimed that the film contains false and malicious information that could cause public unrest and disturb communal harmony, and therefore, it was deemed to be against the "cultural, ethical, and national security" interests of the country. The government defended their decision by stating that they have the responsibility to protect the public from being exposed to false or misleading information that could cause harm.