The Delhi High Court on Friday, 16 September issued a notice to ZEE News and its then anchor Sudhir Chaudhary over a plea filed by ex-Jawaharlal Nehru University student union leader Shehla Rashid, wherein she has sought an unequivocal apology from the news channel for airing a programme against her.
In the programme that aired on 30 November 2020, Chaudhary had interviewed Rashid’s father and allegedly insinuated that she is involved in ‘anti-national activities’ and ‘terror-funding.’
Justice Yashwant Sharma has given News Broadcasters and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA), ZEE News and Sudhir Chaudhary six weeks to respond, while posting the matter for hearing on 23 February 2023, Bar and Bench reported.
Rashid had approached the court over an order passed by the NBDSA in April 2022. In that order, the NBDSA had directed ZEE News to take down links of the show as it ‘lacked objectivity’ and presented ‘only one side of the story.’
Since the NBDSA had rendered the show as being partisan, Rashid expressed her disappointment at the fact that the association did not direct the channel to issue an apology to her.
Rashid has now demanded that ZEE News and Sudhir Chaudhary issue an unambiguous and unequivocal apology and also run it during the prime time debate on the news channel to mitigate the damage caused to her reputation.
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