Govt appears blind to issue of news channels inciting riots: SC

The Supreme Court on Thursday said that the Centre appeared “blind” to the growing problem of some news channels inciting riots and violence. The top court also underscored the need for a strong regulatory regime for a crackdown on violators. The observation came during a hearing on a bunch of petitions by Muslim organisations against the alleged demonisation of Muslims by some TV channels. While the govt lawyer admitted that the regulatory regime was not satisfactory with regard to news channels, the bench was unequivocal that certain news items had the propensity of triggering violence and unrest, and that the government was not doing much.