Dikhyaa Mohanty 
In a recent development surrounding the contentious BBC documentary about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Delhi court has sent the BBC, UK, a new summons. This action is taken after it was claimed that the earlier summonses were unsuccessful. The BBC and other parties were served with a new summons by Additional District Judge Ruchika Singla of the Rohini Courts in a defamation suit. The purpose of the summons was to prevent the publication of the documentary on PM Modi or any other content pertaining to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).
Binay Kumar Singh, a BJP leader, initiated the lawsuit. The BBC, the other defendants, the Wikimedia Foundation, and the US-based digital library Internet Archive are all foreign businesses, the judge noted, and the summons must be served in accordance with the directives given by the Delhi High Court. In response to a petition brought by the Gujarat-based NGO Justice on Trial, the Delhi High Court had earlier sent the BBC a new notice alleging that the documentary “India: The Modi Question” “cast a slur” on the character of the nation, the Prime Minister, and the judiciary.
BBC India had also received a notification regarding the case from Justice Sachin Datta. The petitioner NGO’s attorney told the high court that although notices had previously been sent to the BBC in both the UK and India, they could not be delivered. The matter is scheduled for hearing again on August 27 before Judge Singla. The judge also mentioned that the summons was received by Internet Archive and the Wikimedia Foundation. The plaintiff’s attorney filed the tracking data, which shows how the summonses were delivered to ABC Legal Service on March 23.
However, the court said: “… Summons issued to defendant no. 1 (BBC, UK) not received back. Same be issued afresh on the UK address in compliance of order dated 07.07.2023 on filing of processing fee (PF) within 7 days from today.”
