New Delhi: The News Broadcasting & Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) has issued nine adjudication orders — numbered 214 to 222 — all dated May 19, 2026, addressing complaints against several leading Indian news broadcasters for alleged violations of broadcasting standards, communal reporting norms, and privacy guidelines. The orders were passed by Justice A.K. Sikri (Retd.), Chairperson, NBDSA.
The batch of orders, spanning complaints filed between late 2024 and early 2026, covers a wide range of alleged violations including inaccurate reporting, religious stereotyping, sensationalism, hate speech, and breach of privacy — with the affected channels including Zee News, Aaj Tak, ABP News, NDTV, and ABP Majha.
Zee News Bears the Brunt
Zee News emerged as the broadcaster facing the most adverse outcomes across this batch of orders, with findings going against it in three separate matters.
In the most consequential ruling — Order No. 217 — NBDSA levied a monetary fine of ₹25,000 on Zee News’s parent company, Zee Media Corporation Limited (ZMCL), after finding that a reporter had shoved a microphone in the face of a visibly grieving and distressed woman — the mother of murder accused Raj Kushwaha — despite her clearly expressing her unwillingness to speak to the media. The channel had aired the footage and subsequently uploaded it to its digital platforms. NBDSA held the broadcast to be in clear violation of principles of good taste, decency, and privacy guidelines, which require broadcasters to exercise discretion and sensitivity when reporting on distressing situations. The authority directed the channel to remove the footage from its website, YouTube, and all other digital platforms within seven days, and also recommended that the broadcaster impart training to its field reporters and journalists to prevent recurrence.
In Order No. 218, NBDSA admonished Zee News for its coverage of an incident during the Kanwar Yatra in July 2025, in which broken glass was found on a pilgrimage route in Delhi. The broadcast had framed the incident as a deliberate conspiracy by the Muslim community against Hindu pilgrims, airing AI-generated images depicting Muslim men spitting in food and juice, along with inflammatory on-screen tickers. Delhi Police subsequently confirmed the incident was the result of an accidental fall of glass panels from an e-rickshaw, with no evidence of any conspiracy. While the channel aired a brief correction following the police clarification, NBDSA observed that the correction — less than a minute long — was inadequate given that the original broadcast lasted 55 minutes. NBDSA held that the broadcaster had violated the guidelines on Racial and Religious Harmony and Accuracy, directed the removal of the impugned footage from all digital platforms, and admonished the channel to exercise greater care in future broadcasts.
A third order against Zee News — Order No. 219 — concerned two broadcasts from December 2024 reporting on alleged attacks on Hindu temples in Bangladesh. The channel had aired visuals of a Hindu goddess idol being carried to a pond and presented them as evidence of idol desecration in Bangladesh, when in fact the footage depicted a 600-year-old ritual practice from the Bardhaman district of West Bengal. The discrepancy had been fact-checked and flagged by Alt News, but the channel had failed to act on it or respond to the original complaint. Though the broadcaster subsequently removed the video, it failed to submit any material evidence to substantiate its original claim that the visuals were from Bangladesh. NBDSA drew a reasonable inference in favour of the complainant, found a violation of the Accuracy principle under the Code of Conduct, and cautioned the broadcaster against reporting inaccurate news.
NDTV Cautioned Over “Thook Jihad” Report
In Order No. 222, NBDSA cautioned NDTV over a December 2024 broadcast concerning a roti-maker in Meerut who was filmed spitting on rotis he was preparing. The channel reported the incident using the term “Thook Jihad,” giving it an explicit communal characterisation. NBDSA observed that while coverage of the underlying incident was legitimate, the use of the term “jihad” in the context of the report — even in the absence of explicit attribution to a community — effectively referred to a particular religious community. The authority held that the sweeping generalisation of the incident as a widespread occurrence, without substantiation, violated the Code of Conduct’s guidelines on Racial and Religious Stereotyping. NDTV had voluntarily removed the broadcast prior to the hearing, which NBDSA treated as a mitigating factor. The channel was cautioned to avoid such generalizations in future.
Complaints Against Aaj Tak Closed
Two complaints against Aaj Tak — Orders No. 215 and 220 — were closed without adverse findings.
Order No. 215 arose from a March 2025 broadcast on the “Black and White” programme discussing a Sambhal police officer’s advisory to Muslims to stay indoors during Holi. The complainant, Indrajeet Ghorpade, alleged that the channel had justified and promoted the officer’s controversial statement and portrayed Muslims as intolerant. After reviewing the footage and hearing submissions, NBDSA held that the broadcast had maintained objectivity, had reported the statements of multiple Muslim religious leaders who themselves supported adjusting namaz timings on the day, and had discussed the political exploitation of the Hindu-Muslim divide. No violation of principles of Accuracy, Neutrality, Objectivity, or Religious Stereotyping was found.
Order No. 220 stemmed from a complaint by Citizens for Justice and Peace Mumbai against an Aaj Tak broadcast shortly after the Maha Kumbh stampede in January 2025. The specific grievance was a segment between the 36:10 and 37:21 minute marks, during which the anchor displayed names of social media users — predominantly Muslim — who had reacted to stampede-related posts with laughing emojis, suggesting they were celebrating the tragedy. The complainant argued this singled out the Muslim community and fuelled communal division. The broadcaster maintained that names from all communities were shown and no particular community was targeted. After reviewing the footage, NBDSA was of the view that the anchor had not built a narrative targeting a specific community and found no Code of Conduct violation.
Zee News Waqf Bill Debate: No Violation Found
Order No. 216 concerned a March 2025 episode of Zee News’s “Taal Thok Ke LIVE” programme that discussed the proposed Waqf Amendment Bill protests, which had been rescheduled around the Holi festival. The complainant, Citizens for Justice and Peace, alleged that the broadcast deliberately conflated the protest with a fabricated threat to Holi, using sensationalist tickers and inflammatory framing to promote a communal agenda. Zee News argued that at the time of the broadcast, the protest date coincided with Holika Dahan and that the editorial focus on the protest’s timing was a legitimate journalistic inquiry. NBDSA, after reviewing the footage, observed that diverse perspectives had been expressed during the debate and that participants had been given an opportunity to voice their views. No violation of the Code of Conduct was made out, and the complaint was closed.
ABP News Complaint Closed After Self-Correction
Order No. 214 involved a complaint by Indrajeet Ghorpade against ABP News over its “SmartEd Conclave 2025” programme, during which a guest panelist made a statement claiming that keeping boys and girls separated could lead to homosexuality. The complainant argued the statement was unscientific, baseless, and homophobic, and that the channel bore responsibility for having platformed and disseminated it. ABP News argued the remark was made spontaneously by an independent panelist in a live discussion and that the anchor had in fact questioned the panelist on the statement. NBDSA noted that the broadcaster had itself edited the offending portion from the broadcast prior to the adjudication. On that basis, it decided not to proceed further and closed the complaint.
ABP Majha: Broadcaster’s Affidavit Accepted
Order No. 221 pertained to a February 2026 broadcast by ABP Majha on a sensitive POCSO matter involving minor children aged approximately 11 to 12 years from a school in Sambhajinagar, Aurangabad. The complainant alleged multiple violations including indirect identification of the accused minors through contextual details, speculative psychological commentary, and a sensational headline. The broadcaster filed an affidavit stating that no names, identities, or particulars capable of identifying the accused minors were disclosed during the broadcast, directly or indirectly. NBDSA, proceeding on the basis that the affidavit was faithfully given, found no identity disclosure and closed the complaint.
Regulatory Context
The nine orders reflect NBDSA’s continuing focus on communal reporting standards, accuracy in visual journalism, and the protection of vulnerable individuals — including minors and grieving families — from intrusive or harmful media coverage. The authority’s findings across this batch signal particular concern about the use of unverified visuals, inflammatory tickers, and sweeping communal generalizations in the context of religiously sensitive news events.
All orders have been directed to be circulated to all Members, Editors, and Legal Heads of the News Broadcasters & Digital Standards Association (NBDA), hosted on NBDSA’s website, included in its next Annual Report, and released to the media.
