The Supreme Court has adjourned the Sudarshan News TV case till October 26.
A ministerial committee has advised changes in the hugely controversial "UPSC Jihad" programme of private channel Sudarshan News TV, the Supreme Court said today. The changes apply to telecast of further episodes of the programme, which showed episodes on Muslims "infiltrating government services".
Sudarshan News TV should be given an opportunity to address the recommendations of the committee, the Centre told the court.
The government said it is issuing another notice to Sudarshan News TV calling for its reply, and sought an adjournment. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the Information and Broadcasting Ministry will hear Sudarshan News TV's response to the notice tomorrow.
In the last hearing of the case on September 23, the government had told the court that the channel has prima facie violated the programme code and a showcause notice has been issued to them.
"The notice is a detailed one, giving facts which are against the program code," the Centre told the top court. The channel had been asked to respond by September 28.
The court had asked the Centre to deal with the notice issue as per law and file a report on its decision.
Today, agreeing to give more time to the government, the court adjourned the case till October 26.
The uproar over the Sudarshan News TV programme came amid sharp scrutiny of the media following the no-holds-barred coverage of the Sushant Singh Rajput case by some channels.
In one of its first hearings of the case, the court said the show was an attempt to vilify Muslims. "You cannot target one community and brand them in a particular manner," the judges said, barring the telecast of further episodes of the programme, which implied a criticism of the Union Public Services Commission, which holds the prestigious competitive exams for senior government posts.
The Information and Broadcasting ministry's guidelines of Cable Television Network Rules, 1994 says no programme should be carried which "contains attack on religions or communities or visuals or words contemptuous of religious groups or which promote communal attitudes".