Gauhati High Court has overturned the ban imposed on an Assamese television serial last month. Now, Rengoni TV can telecast ‘Begum Jaan’ as long as it does not hurt religious sentiments. The High Court of Assam on September 3 has overturned the ban.
A single-judge bench of Justice Suman Shyam was acting on a petition by AM Television and managing director Sanjive Narain. Suman Shyam gave the decision to lift the two-month ban by Gauhati Police Commissioner MP Gupta on ‘Begum Jaan’. The lifting of the ban was done on the ground that the order did not follow the laid down rules.
The Police Commissioner imposed the ban on August 24 for two months. They also issued a show-cause notice to AM Television. The ban was based on complaints from Hindu Jagaran Manch. According to Jagaran Manch, the serial hurts religious sentiments and the contents are derogatory towards one religion.
As per the complainants, the serial promotes ‘love jihad’. However, Sanjive Narain denied the charges. Narain also stated that the story is all about a Hindu girl. She gets into trouble in a Muslim and a Muslim boy saves her.
On the recommendation of a monitoring committee, AM TV challenged the ban. According to the petitioners, the order violates the guidelines of the Government of India (GOI). The committee does not include any representative from electronic media. The petitioners also inform the court that GOI guidelines require hearing versions of both parties before imposing such a ban. However, the petitioners were not given any copy of the complaints.
