Delhi HC sends BBC notice in Rs 10,000 crore suit on Modi documentary

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court issued notice Monday to BBC in a Rs 10,000 crore suit that alleges that the latter's two-part documentary, "India: The Modi Question," has tarnished the image of India, its judiciary and PM Modi, reports Vineet Upadhyay.
The suit was filed by a Gujarat based non-profit, Justice on Trial, which sought the court's permission to sue the British broadcaster as an "indigent person", stating that it is "not possessed of sufficient means to enable it to pay the fee prescribed by law".
The single-judge bench of Justice Sachin Datta allowed the petition and issued the notice to BBC for the documentary that is banned in India.
The NGO said: "Any slur on the reputation of the country, its judiciary or its government or libel committed in relation to a person who presently is the Prime Minister of India as well as portraying India as a country that professes equality before the law but allows institutional discrimination against minority communities is plainly defamatory..." It alleged that the documentary hid facts and presented half-truths with mala fide intentions.