BBC documentary row: Moosewala’s father fails to submit reply in court for second time

Father of slain Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, Balkaur Singh, failed for the second consecutive time to submit a reply to objections raised against a civil writ petition he filed concerning the BBC documentary — The Killing Call — which delves into his son’s life and murder

Bathinda : Father of slain Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, Balkaur Singh, failed for the second consecutive time to submit a reply to objections raised against a civil writ petition he filed concerning the BBC documentary — The Killing Call — which delves into his son’s life and murder.

Sidhu Moosewala’s father Balkaur Singh.

During Tuesday’s court proceedings, duty magistrate Ankit Airi, an additional civil judge, scheduled the next hearing for July 21.

Balkaur’s counsel Satinder Pal Singh said the reason no reply was submitted was due to the fact that the respondents — the BBC, investigative journalist Ishleen Kaur, and programme producer Ankur Jain — had already filed their responses to the suit.

The singer’s father had initially filed the suit on June 10 against the BBC, Kaur and Jain, seeking to block the screening and release of the documentary. The writ challenges the broadcasting of The Killing Call, citing concerns about its portrayal of the singer’s murder.

In response, BBC’s lawyer Balwant Bhatia argued that the petition should be dismissed, as the documentary had already been released globally, rendering the writ petition “infructuous.” Bhatia pointed out that the documentary was produced and released by BBC Worldwide, a UK-based entity, and that Balkaur Singh had failed to make them a party in the case.