The News Broadcasters and Digital Standards Authority found that a News18 India debate hosted by anchor Rubika Liyaquat violated the code on reporting court proceedings and the principle of neutrality.
The debate in question aired on March 28 last year, a week after the arrest of then Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate on charges of corruption and money laundering in the alleged liquor policy scam.
The order, dated January 24, said Liyaquat attributed guilt to the Aam Aadmi Party chief in a matter that was still subjudice. It said she was expected to exercise restraint while defending the prime minister. The order also said the anchor was expected to “maintain a professional tone and refrain from indulging in a back-and -forth debate with a panelist”.
The NBDSA ordered News18 India to edit the footage of the debate in question by removing the offending portion of the broadcast within seven days.
The NBDSA action comes in response to a complaint filed by Pune-based techie and activist Indrajit Ghorpade, who has filed several complaints against news channels in the past. In the complaint, Ghorpade alleged the channel had justified the “falsehood promoted by the BJP spokesperson, who said the courts have found the Delhi CM guilty, which is why he was not granted bail”.
The order, passed by NBDSA chairperson, retired Justice AK Sikri, found that Liyaquat had failed to correct BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala who “falsely stated” that “the court told Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal that it cannot grant him relief because he has committed a scam”.
The NBDSA maintained that the debate was not only violative of the “Specific Guidelines for Reporting Court Proceedings and the principle of neutrality under the Code of Ethics and Broadcasting Standards but also the judgment of the Bombay High Court in Nilesh Navlakha vs Union of India."
The complaint also alleged that when Samajwadi Party spokesperson Ameeque Jamei accused PM Narendra Modi of being corrupt, anchor Rubika Liyaquat “lectured him on how the Prime Minister of the country must not be criticised and must be respected”. “He is your Prime Minister too. First of all, you remain within the limits of manners and etiquettes and then speak because he is your Prime Minister too, although he is not from your party, and does not believe in your ideology,” Liyaquat said.
In its response, News18 India had said that the anchor was reacting against the “objectionable language used against the person occupying the highest constitutional post in the country”.
The NBDSA maintained that while there was no problem with the anchor defending the PM in the debate in question, it expected her to exercise restraint and maintain a professional tone.
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