Times Now Navbharat should remove Navika’s show with ‘communal inclination’: NBDSA

NBDSA has made serious comments regarding Times Now Navbharat. The authority said that the channels related to Garba should be removed immediately. The show was hosted by anchor Navika Kumar. NBDSA cautioned and directed the channel to avoid giving communal color to its reports.

The authority, headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice AK Sikri, said the TV channel followed guidelines to prevent communal color in reporting of crime, riots, rumors and such related incidents and maintain racial and religious harmony, Live Law reported. Breached specific guidelines covering relevant reporting. Therefore, instructions are given to remove the video from Times Now Navbharat channel’s website and YouTube. The order also states that the removal of this content should be confirmed to NBDSA within 7 days.

The Justice Sikri-led authority has passed this order on the complaint of tech ethics professional Indrajit Ghorpade. He has alleged that the show targeted the entire Muslim community and violated broadcasting standards. Another complaint regarding the same broadcast was also filed by Matin Mujawar.

According to Live Law, both the complainants had complained about a show aired on Times Now Navbharat on 29 September 2022. In which it was reported that a Muslim man was physically attacked by members of Bajrang Dal during a Garba program. The channel claimed that the episode focused on the safety of women at public events by highlighting incidents where inappropriate photographs of women were taken by miscreants at Garba events.

The complaint claimed that the channel was spreading hatred by broadcasting news with a communal agenda, which could harm minorities and the secular fabric of the country.

The channel defended its show, claiming that only legitimate questions were raised about women’s safety in such public programmes. The channel, in its reply to NBDSA, also said that it did not intend to target any particular community. The channel claimed that the allegations made in the complaints were ‘out of context and baseless’. But the authority said that the show had communal overtones rather than focusing on women’s safety. The authority said- communal inclination is visible from the nature of questions raised by the anchor and the language used in the ticker of the channel.