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Gujarat NGO withdraws defamation suit against BBC over Modi documentary
Justice on Trial, the NGO, sought ₹10,000 damages for the loss of reputation and goodwill that ‘India: The Modi Question’ caused
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A Gujarat-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) has withdrawn a defamation suit it filed against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) three years ago in the Delhi high court, accusing the broadcaster of defaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian judiciary by airing the documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’ in January 2023. It sought permission to file a fresh suit.
The documentary cited a previously unpublished United Kingdom foreign ministry report that questioned Modi’s actions during the 2002 riots when he was the Gujarat chief minister. The government dismissed it as “propaganda” and a reflection of the “colonial mindset”.
The lawyer representing Justice on Trial, the NGO, told a bench of Justice Tushar Rao Gedela on September 3 that he had instructions to withdraw the suit. He added that the notice issued in the matter related to an application seeking permission to sue as an indigent person, and not to the defamation suit itself. “He states that he is under instructions to withdraw the...suit with liberty to file fresh suit for the same cause of action,” the court said. The court dismissed the suit as withdrawn.
In its suit, the NGO sought ₹10,000 damages for the loss of reputation and goodwill caused to the Prime Minister, the Union and the Gujarat governments, and the people of India.
The suit said the governmental and judicial response to the 2002 riots was to ensure that the rule of law is restored, and all people involved, regardless of their status or position, bear the consequences. It called the documentary defamatory because it did not present facts objectively.
The BBC maintained the documentary was rigorously researched in line with its highest editorial standards, even as the government directed video-sharing service YouTube to take down its copies and Twitter (now X) to remove related posts. The government said the documentary peddled a “discredited narrative” and highlighted that the Supreme Court cleared Modi of any wrongdoing.
In February 2023, the Supreme Court dismissed as “completely misconceived” a public interest litigation demanding a ban on the BBC in India amid the controversy over the documentary. The same month, the income tax department carried out what it described as a “survey” of the BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai, sparking a political row. Opposition parties criticised the action and linked it to the BBC’s airing of a two-part documentary.
