India's Delhi HC summons BBC in defamation suit over Modi documentary

In connection to a defamation suit filed by a Justice on Trial, a Gujarat-based NGO, over the BBC documentary on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Delhi High Court on Monday issued a summons to the British broadcaster.

The suit leveled an accusation on the BBC that saying its docu-series “casts a slur” not only on India's repute but also hurts the esteem of Indian judiciary and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reported Live Law.

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The summon was issued by Justice Sachin Datta and the matter is now listed for hearing for September.

“It is contended that the documentary makes defamatory imputation and castes slur on reputation of the country and the judiciary and against the Prime Minister. Issue notice to the respondents…,” the court said.

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Appearing in favor of the Gujarat NGO, Senior Advocate Harish Salve contended that the two-part documentary has defamed the country as well as the judiciary.

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Enforcement Directorate registers case against BBC

India's law enforcement agency Enforcement Directorate in April registered a case against BBC's India news broadcaster in connection to the foreign exchange violations allegations. The case was filed under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

India's Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in a release noted that BBC group entities' income and profits which were disclosed are "not commensurate" with respect to its operations' scale."The survey operations also revealed that services of seconded employees have been utilised for which reimbursement has been made by the Indian entity to the foreign entity concerned," it added.

Tax raids in Delhi, Mumbai BBC offices

India's Income Tax Department carried out tax surveys at BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai in the month of February. The IT department had reportedly "gathered several evidence" which suggest that "tax has not been paid on certain remittances" which have not been disclosed as income in India by the foreign entities of the group.

The BBC raids came after the UK broadcaster on 17 January released a documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots under the title ‘India: The Modi Question’. The release of the documentary drew sharp reaction from the Indian government who opposed it and ordered curbs on its release on various social media platforms.

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