NEW DELHI: A committee constituted by the Centre to examine the content of Diljit Dosanjh-starrer Satluj has recommended that the ban on the film’s streaming on ZEE5 should continue as it allegedly goes against India’s sovereignty and integrity, government sources told PTI on Saturday.
Directed by Honey Trehan, the film depicts the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, who investigated the cremation of thousands of unidentified bodies in Punjab between 1984 and 1994. Khalra was abducted and murdered by the Punjab Police in 1995.
Satluj was pulled from streaming platform ZEE5 for viewers in India on July 5, two days after its July 3 release, after the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting cited security concerns.
The ministry subsequently constituted an inter-department committee (IDC) under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, to examine the film in detail and recommend the future course of action.
According to PTI, the committee concluded that the blocking of the film under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act was justified.
Section 69A empowers the government to block online content on grounds including India’s sovereignty and integrity, defence, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states and public order.
The committee comprises representatives from the ministries of information and broadcasting, home affairs, electronics and information technology, women and child development, external affairs, defence, and law and justice, among others.
Sources said the committee observed that the film’s narrative was not balanced as it allegedly whitewashed the acts of militants while highlighting the excesses committed by the security forces in Punjab during the years of militancy.
The decision to block the film triggered a political row in Punjab, with the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) demanding that the ban be lifted, while the Shiromani Akali Dal announced plans to organise public screenings of the film across the state.
Part III of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, empowers the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to invoke Section 69A of the IT Act through a mechanism meant to oversee OTT content that does not fall within the purview of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
Agencies