Blanket ban on BBC Nirbhaya rape documentary ‘India’s daughter’

Meanwhile, the police have also sent official notices to social networking sites and video portals including YouTube, Facebook, Google and Yahoo, to not release the documentary on their websites for viewing in India, sources said.

According to police, the FIR under sections 509, 504, 505 (1) (b) IPC and section 66 A IT Act, registered late on Tuesday, was against the controversial statement made by Mukesh Singh, and not the legalities of access the crew obtained to conduct the interview.

“As per media reports, in the said interview, the convict Mukesh Singh has made malicious, derogatory, offensive, insulting remarks against women, causing harassment and disrepute. These excerpts of the interview as published are highly offensive and have already created a situation of tension and fear among women in society,” deputy commissioner of police Rajneesh Garg said.

“Therefore, an application was made seeking restraining order from publishing, transmitting, uploading and broadcasting the interview. The court issued directions that the said interview shall not be uploaded, transmitted or published through any web portal or print or any other media till further orders. The restraint order has been served upon the BBC and NDTV. The CERT-IN (Computer Emergency Response Team-India) has been requested to ensure compliance of the court’s order. Further, all the media houses have also been requested to comply with the court’s order meticulously,” he said.

The FIR mentions the name of Mukesh Singh, who in the footage released by the director of the documentary, allegedly justifies the act of rape and tarnishes the image of the deceased. Sources also said that the FIR mentions print and electronic media who have been publishing or broadcasting the excerpts of Singh’s interview and senior police officers said they might be booked.