NBDSA censures news channels for violating guidelines

New Delhi, Jan 28 (PTI) The News Broadcasting & Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) has directed Times Now Navbharat and Zee News to remove segments of debates on the Israel-Hamas conflict and an encounter in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly violating its guidelines.

In both the cases, the NBDSA, the self-regulatory body for news channels, ruled the anchors were partisan in their conduct and were steering debates towards religious bias.

The first case pertains to two debates aired on the Israel-Hamas conflict on Times Now Navbharat on October 16, 2023.

The second complaint was against the Zee Media Corporation Ltd regarding a live debate segment aired on March 20, 2024 on the encounter of a Muslim man accused of killing Hindu children in Uttar Pradesh's Budaun.

The NBDSA also ordered News18 India to delete offending portions of a debate on March 28, 2024 in which the anchor allegedly attributed guilt to AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor scam case which is still under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate. The order was passed on January 24.

"The problem lay in the manner in which the anchor had attributed guilt in a matter that was sub-judice; this aspect of the broadcast 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 v. Union of India," said the order passed by chairperson Justice (retired) A K Sikri.

The NBDSA also took exception to the manner in which the anchor defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the same debate when one of the panelists had raised the issue of Electoral Bonds scheme and attributed corruption to Modi.

"It was expected that the anchor while defending the Prime Minister would exercise restraint, maintain a professional tone and refrain from indulging in a back and forth debate with the panelist as such discussion distracts from meaningful debate," the NBDSA said. PTI SKU SKU TIR TIR