Gujarat-based NGO withdraws defamation suit against BBC for documentary on PM Modi

A Gujarat-based trust has withdrawn its defamation suit against UK broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and its Indian arm, in which it had accused the broadcaster of making false and defamatory insinuations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in its 2023 two-part documentary.

With the trust, Justice for All, seeking the court’s permission to withdraw its suit on September 3, Justice Tushar Rao Gedela allowed it and dismissed the proceedings as withdrawn. Justice For All, a Gujarat-based registered society, had filed a “suit for damages”, “seeking permission to file as an indigent person”.

The NGO had contended that the BBC’s two-episode documentary “contains content which casts a slur on the reputation of the country and also makes false and defamatory imputations and insinuations against the Prime Minister of India, the Indian Judiciary, and the Indian criminal justice system”.

As per provisions of the Civil Procedure Code, an indigent person is one who is without sufficient means to pay the court fee. Earlier, the suits filed by indigent persons were also referred to as “pauper suits”, and they can be filed only by those who are unable to pay on account of poverty.

If an “indigent person” succeeds in the suit, court fees shall be recoverable by the State Government from any party ordered by the decree to pay the same. However, if an indigent person fails in the suit or the permission granted to him to sue as an indigent person is withdrawn, or the suit is withdrawn or dismissed, the indigent person will be required to pay the court fees.

The court had issued notice to the respondent parties, including BBC’s UK arm of broadcasting as well as its India operations arm BBC World Service India Pvt. Ltd, in May 2023. The two-part documentary, India: the Modi Question, was released in January 2023.

The documentary focused on the 2002 Gujarat riots and the response of Modi, then the CM, and his state government to the riots. The Centre had termed the documentary as a “propaganda piece that lacks objectivity and reflects a colonial mindset”.

The documentary was not made available in India by BBC. It had kicked up a political storm in India and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) had directed YouTube and Twitter to take down links sharing the BBC documentary.

It exercised emergency provisions of the Information Technology Rules, 2021, for allegedly casting “aspersions on the authority and credibility of the Supreme Court of India, sowing divisions among various communities, and making unsubstantiated allegations regarding actions of foreign governments in India”.

Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express.

Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare).

Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others.

She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy.

Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system.

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