Gangrape documentary: Legal notice to BBC, YouTube asked to remove video

Upset over BBC broadcasting the controversial interview of Delhi gangrape convict, government has served a legal notice on the British media giant even as it asked video sharing website YouTube to remove the documentary as it is “very sensitive”.

Read Also: Government examining options whether to take legal action against BBC

In the notice, the government told the BBC that it has “violated” the agreement of not using the documentary for commercial purpose and for this the British media giant was liable for legal action.

“No necessary approval was taken by the BBC for the commercial use of the documentary. We have served the notice and waiting for their response. Further course of action is awaited,” a Home Ministry official said.

The notice was served last evening, before the telecast of the film by the BBC in UK at 10 PM (GMT).

It was served by Director General of Tihar jail Alok Kumar Verma through government standing counsel.

Officials claimed that filmmaker Leslee Udwin had agreed to the condition that the documentary would not be used for commercial purposes. However, she sold the rights of the film to BBC allegedly allowing it for using commercial purpose.

Earlier in the day, government said necessary action will be taken as the BBC ignored its advice and broadcast the controversial interview of Delhi gangrape convict.

It had also asked video sharing website YouTube to remove the documentary as it is “very sensitive”.

“While we believe that access to information is the foundation of a free society, and that services like YouTube help people express themselves and share different points of view, we continue to remove content that is illegal or violates our community guidelines, once notified,” said a YouTube spokesperson.

The law requires YouTube to be notified of the content that is illegal. And law enforcement agencies are required to notify Intermediaries with specific URLs to be taken down. A message on a specific video that the content has been blocked due to court order, then it means action has been taken.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh also spoke to Communication and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asking him to ensure that the video is removed from all social media sites.

BBC aired the documentary, containing the controversial interview of a convict in the December 16,2012 gangrape despite a Delhi court prohibiting it.

Source:: Indian Express