The broadcasting authority held Zee News guilty of branding Gauhar Raza, noted scientist and poet, as a sympathiser of terrorism and ordered it to carry an apology on the channel.
NBSA (News Broadcasting Standards Authority) has ordered Zee News to tender an apology to Gauhar Raza, eminent scientist and poet, for painting him as a member of "Afzal Premi Gang" in a derisive reference as a sympathiser of terrorism in a television news clip.
Taking serious note of the news clip, NBSA has asked the Zee TV channel to air an apology on September 8 on its channel at 9 pm in a clearly audible voice over in slow speed. The text of the apology must be displayed in full screen, the authority ruled.
The authority also ordered the channel to remove the video of the offending programme from its website.
Earlier, Gauhar Raza, a resident of Dwarka, was maligned in a news telecast carried by Zee News in March 2016. Raza was branded as part of an “Afzal Premi Gang” for reciting his poems in the "Shankar - Shaad Mushaira" in Delhi.
A complaint was then filed by Raza with the NBSA against Zee News. Another joint complaint was filed with the authority by eminent artists such as Ashok Vajpeyi, Shubha Mudgal, Sharmila Tagore and Dr Syeda Hameed. Advocate Vrinda Grover argued on behalf of Gauhar Raza and other complainants.
According to Raza, NBSA has awarded the highest punishment in its jurisdiction, reaffirming that big media houses cannot trample over the rights of citizens and stamp out their freedom of speech and expression. Raza said, "This decision has shown that media house Zee News cannot use their might to intimidate citizens and prevent them from exercising their constitutional right to dissent and freedom of expression."
