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. Dwarka News
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. Apartment management software
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."
