TV channel under lens over Muzaffarnagar riots

Officials say channel could also lose its licence if complaints are found to be true

The Union Ministry for Information and Broadcasting has sent a show-cause notice to a Noida-based regional television broadcaster, Sudarshan News, after complaints were filed that the channel was instigating violence in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh.

A senior official in the ministry said,“We are monitoring the the content aired by Sudarshan TV and we believe the channel is in violation of policies, as some of the content is believed to have instigated the violence. We have given them a show cause notice  as we believe they should be given a chance to give their view. So far, we have only received complaints about Sudarshan TV and none of the other broadcasters.” According to senior officials in the ministry, the channel could also lose its licence if the complaints are found to be true.

The show-cause was sent on Monday.

On its part, Sudarshan News said that it had been on air for the past seven years and had never been reprimanded for its content. “We have a clean history record and we were only appealing to our viewers to remain calm,” Suresh Chauhan, chairman of the channel told Business Standard.

Muzaffarnagar, in Uttar Pradesh has been struck by deadly communal violence, in which 40 people were killed over the past week. The violence started after a youth was killed over eve-teasing. Last week, two journalists were also killed during the riots.

On Monday, Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Manish Tewari had said that there was an IT Act currently administered by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. “If something has law and order implications, some steps become necessary which do not impinge on fundamental freedom of speech and expression but fall within reasonable restrictions,” Tewari had said when asked about the misuse of social media in instigating violence in Muzaffarnagar.

On Tuesday, a Bharatiya Janata Party legislator was arrested in Muzaffarnagar for allegedly uploading and sharing a fake video which triggered the communal clashes in the area.