The Delhi High Court on Thursday ordered the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry to take action against media houses that are not members of the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) if they are found to have violated the Cable TV act while broadcasting content relating to actor Rakul Preet Singh.
The order was passed by a single-judge bench of the high court presided over by Justice Prathiba M. Singh who also asked the Ministry to file a status report in this regard.
The Ministry in an affidavit filed through Advocate Ajay Digpaul has informed the court that NBSA has passed 10 orders in respect of the complaint filed by the actor.
The affidavit further stated also informed the Court that they are examining the representation given by Singh.
In September last year, Bollywood actor Rakul Preet Singh had asked Delhi High Court for urgent interim directions from the court restraining media from running shows or publishing articles against her in connection with the drug probe which emerged out following the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
The petition claimed that Rakul Preet has been in Hyderabad for a film shoot and was shocked to see media reports in the evening of 23.9.2020 to the effect that the Narcotics Control Bureau, Mumbai has summoned her to appear before it in Mumbai in the morning of 24.9.2020 in connection with the ongoing investigation in the Rhea Chakraborty narcotic drugs case.
“…the Petitioner had received no such summons from the NCB at either of her Hyderabad or Mumbai addresses, and accordingly she remained in Hyderabad. The Petitioner’s father, Col. Kulvinder Singh (Retd), decided to take the morning flight on 24.9.2020 to Mumbai from Hyderabad to ascertain the truth of such reports,”
-the plea said.
“…however, from the evening of 23.9.2020 itself, the media started running fake news to the effect that the Petitioner, who was in Hyderabad, had supposedly reached Mumbai on the evening of 23.9.2020 for the NCB investigation,” it said further.
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It added that around 11.20 am on 24.9.2020, the Petitioner received in Hyderabad, through Whatsapp, summons under Section 67 of the NDPS Act dated 23.9.2020 and which required her to appear in person before the NCB, Mumbai on 24.9.2020 at 10 am.
it is from the email dated 24.9.2020 from the NCB that the Petitioner learnt that case in which she has been required to appear has been registered as Crime No. MZU/NCB/15/2020, the actress said.