On September 20, 2020, the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has asked the Supreme Court to make its code of ethics, applicable to all TV news channels, against airing malicious, biased, and regressive content. The NBA suggested that the court to direct the government to include its ethical code in the Programme Code of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994.
On September 18, 2000, responding to a plea to stop the telecast of a programme ‘Bindas Bol’ on Sudarshan TV, containing objectionable content against the Muslim entries into the civil services, a Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud regarded the NBA as ‘toothless’ and ordered it to suggest steps to strengthen the self-regulatory mechanism to prevent or penalise airing of communal or derogatory content on electronic media. As per the court, the content was prima facie ‘plainly hurtful to the community, and an affront to the dignity of the community.’
In its affidavit, the NBA said that the News Broadcasters Services Authority (NBSA) should be granted recognition as an ‘independent self-regulatory mechanism’ to receive and deal with complaints, the orders of which be made binding and enforceable on the channels. Moreover, the penalties should be made stringent. Submission to the NBSA regulatory mechanism should be made binding for granting/ renewal of uplinking/ downlinking permissions by the government, which should consider any previous NBSA orders before taking any actions.
On the other hand, Sudarshan TV, in a separate additional affidavit, urged the court to vacate the stay on its programme as the channel would ‘strictly’ comply with the Programme Code and directions of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Referring to NDTV’s 2008 broadcast of a programme on ‘Hindu Terror’, anchored by Barkha Dutt, the channel said that showing a ‘Hindu saint’ with a tilak, chillum, and trishul was shocking and painful.
Courtesy: The Hindu