[PM Modi Documentary] NGO Withdraws ₹10,000-Crore Defamation Suit Against BBC in Delhi HC

The Gujarat-based NGO Justice on Trial has withdrawn its ₹10,000-crore defamation suit against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) over its 2023 documentary India: The Modi Question from the Delhi High Court, with the court permitting it to file a fresh suit on the same cause of action.

Justice Tushar Rao Gedela allowed the withdrawal on September 3 after counsel for the NGO, advocate Siddharth Sharma, told the court that he had instructions to withdraw the case and sought liberty to institute a fresh suit.

“Accordingly, the I.P.A. 1/2023 alongwith the suit is dismissed as withdrawn with liberty so sought, granted,” court said.

The withdrawal brings to an end, at least for now, proceedings that had remained pending since 2023. The NGO had alleged that the BBC documentary cast a slur on the reputation of India, its judiciary and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The two-part documentary, released in January 2023, examined the 2002 Gujarat riots and Modi’s tenure as Gujarat chief minister at the time. The documentary had triggered a political controversy in India, with the Centre subsequently blocking access to the documentary on social media platforms.

Justice on Trial had approached the Delhi High Court seeking damages of ₹10,000 crore. Since the suit involved a claim of such high monetary value, the NGO sought permission to pursue the case as an “indigent person” under Order XXXIII of the Code of Civil Procedure, which permits persons unable to pay court fees to institute proceedings without making the prescribed payment upfront.

The high court had issued notice to the BBC on the NGO’s Indigent Person Application (IPA) in May 2023. However, summons in the main defamation suit had not been issued.

The maintainability of the proceedings subsequently became an issue before the court. In July 2024, questions were raised regarding the NGO’s ability to maintain the suit in the manner in which it had been instituted. The proceedings also saw repeated adjournments.

In April this year, the high court imposed costs of ₹20,000 on Justice on Trial after it sought another adjournment. Justice Mini Pushkarna, while granting the adjournment, had noted that a final opportunity had earlier been granted to the NGO in December 2025, but an accommodation was again sought citing the engagement of its arguing counsel.

Case title: Justice on Trial v. British Broadcasting Corporation (India) & Anr.

Order date: September 3, 2026

Bench: Justice Tushar Rao Gedela