SC's precious time being wasted: Law Minister Rijiju on plea against BBC documentary ban

Taking to Twitter on Monday, the minister wrote, "This is how they waste the precious time of Hon'ble Supreme Court where thousands of common citizens are waiting and seeking dates for Justice."

New Delhi: Union Law minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday ridiculed the petitoners who challenged Centre's decision to ban the BBC documentary on PM Modi in the Supreme Court. Taking to Twitter on Monday, the minister wrote, "This is how they waste the precious time of Hon'ble Supreme Court where thousands of common citizens are waiting and seeking dates for Justice."

The tweet came in response to a news reports that veteran journalist N Ram, activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan and others have moved the Supreme Court challenging the Centre's decision to block the documentary "India: The Modi Question" on social media.

A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud on Monday took note of the submissions of lawyer M L Sharma and senior advocate C U Singh, appearing for N Ram and Bhushan, seeking urgent listing of their separate PILs on the issue. On January 21, the Centre issued directions for blocking multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the controversial BBC documentary.

The cenre has banned the documentary 'India: The Modi Question' released by the BBC earlier this month, which shows in the detail the Prime Minister's role in the infamous 2002 Gujarat riots, the deaths caused due to beef ban and the CAA-NRC protests in the country.

The documentary has been mired in heavy controversy ever since its release and has been staunchly opposed by many right wing leaders and followers in the country, trashing it as a 'part of propaganda'. Several universities across the country including the Hyderabad University, Jami Milia Islamia and the Pondicherry University among others saw backlash from students who were restricted from watching the documentary.