Delhi HC seeks govt's reply on plea to halt TV show

The Delhi High Court today sought the government's response on a plea to immediately halt all future episodes of a TV series 'Fatah Ka Fatwa', alleging that it promoted enmity between communities.
A bench of acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Anu Malhotra said that the parties involved should ensure that an affidavit is filed on their behalf within four weeks.
It asked the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to state whether there was any substance in the allegation made by the petitioner and fixed the matter for further hearing on September 19.
Earlier it had issued notice to a television channel, which was airing the programme, seeking its response.

The court issued the direction during the hearing of a public interest litigation by Uttar Pradesh resident Hifzur Rehman Khan, who alleged that the TV programme hosted by Tarek Fatah, a Canadian writer and liberal activist, was trying to promote enmity between Muslims and non-Muslims in the country by giving "baseless arguments about religion".
Asking the court to seize all materials relating to the programme, the PIL has urged that the authorities concerned be asked to frame guidelines for telecast of such TV shows, alleging that the host "placed misleading facts" on television. 'Fatah Ka Fatwa' was first aired on January 7.