The News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) has slammed news channels Zee News, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Hindustani, Times Now, India Today, Aaj Tak, News Nation and ABP News for their reports on actress Rakul Preet Singh in connection with the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
Singh had moved the Delhi high court in September, demanding action against 'unsubstantiated' reports by news channels that linked her to the alleged drug angle in the case that was being investigated by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). The court had notified the NBSA to consider the petition and act promptly.
In a statement on Thursday, the NBSA demanded an immediate apology from three channels of the Zee Network, while issuing a warning to other channels against the misuse of hashtags and taglines. All channels were told not to resort to vilifying images and asked to act more cautiously with regard to "unverified and incorrect information".
The legal website LiveLaw.in reported that the NBSA ordered the channels to remove all offensive videos that are still available on their YouTube channels or television platforms and report the same to the authorities within the week.
The channels had reportedly claimed that actress Rhea Chakraborty, who was arrested by officers of the NCB on September 8, had named Singh as one of the actors who were involved in the consumption of drugs. LiveLaw.in stated that upon examination, the authorities discovered that the channels had failed to carry the denial by Chakraborty, who refused having given any such statement.
Singh had approached the Delhi high court, citing the channels' news coverage as a violation of the Programme Code issued under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act. The court then tasked the NBSA with examining the actor's complaints.