NEW DELHI: Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday reacted sharply to a batch of petitions filed against the Union government's decision to ban a documentary film by BBC, 'India: The Modi Question'.
"This is how they waste the precious time of Hon'ble Supreme Court where thousands of common citizens are waiting and seeking dates for Justice," he said in a tweet.
The Minister was responding to a news that senior journalist N Ram, advocate Prashant Bhushan and TMC MP Mahua Moitra have approached the Supreme Court against the Centre's decision.
On Monday, the court said it will hear on February 6, the pleas challenging the Centre's ban.
Senior advocate, Chander Uday Singh, mentioned the matter before a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala.
He said tweets by N Ram and Bhushan were deleted using emergency powers and the students from Ajmer in Rajasthan, were suspended for streaming the documentary.
"It is about the use of ‘emergency powers’ to block clips and tweets, please consider it," Singh said.
"We will list it for hearing," the CJI said.
Advocate M L Sharma, who also filed the petition, mentioned it, by terming the ban as malafide, arbitrary and unconstitutional.
He sought a direction to lift the ban and examination of the documentary so that the accused in Gujarat Riots could be convicted.
