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The News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority has directed Aaj Tak to edit or suitably modify portions of a programme hosted by journalist Sudhir Chaudhary that discussed claims that the Taj Mahal was once a Hindu temple, Bar and Bench reported on Saturday.
The authority noted that the broadcast did not meet standards of neutrality and impartiality under its code of conduct.
In an order issued on Thursday, the authority’s Chairperson Justice AK Sikri observed that “while the broadcaster had relied on the Archaeological Survey of India’s report when covering claims about the Qutub Minar, it omitted similar official records when reporting on the Taj Mahal”, Bar and Bench reported.
The order was passed on an application that had challenged a decision of the News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority from December that had found no breach of its code of conduct in the programme.
The petition alleged that the episode of “Black and White” aired on November 29, 2024 promoted a one-sided narrative about the destruction of Hindu temples by Muslim rulers.
It also argued that the broadcast amplified the widely discredited claim that the Taj Mahal was originally a Hindu temple despite the Archaeological Survey of India having rejected such assertions, Bar and Bench reported.
TV Today Network Limited, which owns Aaj Tak, defended the broadcast, describing it as a documentary-style presentation that compiled claims from books, reports and third party sources.
In its order from December 23, the authority had noted that the broadcast was framed as a historical account and that the anchor had relied on published material, including Archaeological Survey of India reports to support the narrative presented.
However, upon review, the authority drew a distinction between presenting historical claims and doing so in a manner consistent with standards of neutrality and accuracy.
It noted that the broadcaster had cited official records in some segments but omitted similar records while discussing the Taj Mahal.
The authority limited its intervention to the Taj Mahal segment and did not revisit other allegations raised in the complaint, including claims relating to the programme’s communal tone, the omission of legal context such as 1991 Places of Worship Special Provisions Act, among others.
Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.
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