The Delhi High Court on Wednesday declined to look into in a plea challenging the Centre’s approval for Sudarshan TV’s Bindas Bol programme as it was already being looked into by the Supreme Court.
Justice Navin Chawla denied repeated requests of the petitioner to adjourn the matter for eight weeks to await the decision of the top court. Following this, the counsel for the petitioners sought to withdraw the plea.
The plea filed by former and present students of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University had challenged the nod given on September 9 by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to the broadcast of the Bindas Bol programme whose promo claimed that the channel was all set to broadcast a “big expose on a conspiracy to infiltrate Muslims into government service”.
The plea claimed that the proposed show is full of hate speech and defamation against the petitioners and if the current petition is not adjudicated prior to its broadcast, irreparable harm will be caused to them and the plea will also become infructuous.
The plea had said the Ministry has refrained from exercising its powers under the Cable TV Act to prohibit the proposed show.
