NBSA adjudicating process suffers from inherent weakness: Social activist seeks to intervene in Sudarshan TV matter before Supreme Court

Author and social activist Sanjukta Basu has approached the Supreme Court to intervene in the Sudarshan TV case, alleging that her complaint before the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) filed in March 2019 continues to be pending till date. .Represented by Advocates Ilin Saraswat and Swati Jain, Basu has stated that her application raises pertinent questions on the non-functioning of the NBSA as a grievance redressal body. She seeks to "shed light" on the authority's existing adjudicating mechanism, which has "inherent weaknesses.".The activist had filed a complaint with NBSA on March 25, 2019, alleging that Times Now had telecasted defamatory content regarding her.The basic premise of her application before the Supreme Court is that it has been 15 months since the hearing at NBSA and 19 months since her application, but the case is still not disposed of even though NBSA is "mandated" to decide cases within three months of the complaint. ."It has been claimed that NBSA is adjudicating viewers complaints against news broadcasters with due diligence, that its processes are reasonable and only limitation it has is lack of jurisdiction and statutory powers. However my case is telling of the fact that such claims are either faulty or mischevious. Lacking does not explain failure of duty in my case."Press release by Basu.The Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Indu Malhotra and Indira Banerjee is set to resume the hearing in the Sudarshan TV matter on Monday. On September 15, the Court directed Sudarshan TV to defer the broadcast of its programme touted as a ''big expose on the conspiracy" regarding Muslims "infiltrating government service", until further orders.The Court also called for the setting up of a committee of five citizens who can come up with standards for electronic media..If we issue an injunction then should it be a blanket injunction? Supreme Court asks in Sudarshan TV matter.The promo of the show shared by the channel’s Editor-in-Chief Suresh Chavhanke, with hashtag ‘UPSC Jihad’, had garnered criticism from several quarters. In the video, he called those passing out of Jamia Milia Islamia's Residential Coaching Academy (RCA) and clearing the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) as “Jamia ke Jihadi”.Citing freedom of press, the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had given the green signal to the airing of the show.