The News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) has pulled up news channel Aaj Tak and journalist Sudhir Chaudhary over a broadcast that advanced claims that the Taj Mahal was originally a Hindu temple, holding that the programme failed to meet the standards of neutrality and impartiality prescribed under the NBDSA Code of Conduct.
The authority, headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice A K Sikri, passed an order on May 28 directing the broadcaster to remove, edit or suitably modify portions of the programme relating to the Taj Mahal after finding that the segment selectively relied on historical material while omitting official records that contradicted the claim that the monument was once a Hindu temple.
The matter arose from a review application filed by advocate Indrajeet Ghorpade seeking reconsideration of an earlier order passed by the authority on December 23, 2025, which had found no violation of the Code of Conduct and closed the complaint.
The complaint related to an episode of the programme Black and White telecast on November 29, 2024. The broadcast examined claims concerning several historical and religious structures, including the Sambhal Jama Masjid, Ajmer Dargah, Qutub Minar and the Taj Mahal. According to the complainant, the programme advanced a one-sided narrative regarding the alleged destruction of Hindu temples by Muslim rulers, amplified the widely disputed assertion that the Taj Mahal had originally been a Hindu temple despite the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) having rejected such claims, and failed to present contrary historical or official material relating to the monument.
TV Today Network Limited, which owns and operates Aaj Tak, defended the programme by contending that it was presented in a documentary-style format and merely compiled historical claims appearing in books, reports and other publicly available sources. The broadcaster argued that the programme neither advocated demolition of any religious structure nor sought to incite communal tensions. It maintained that the broadcast was intended to examine historical narratives already available in the public domain and that the anchor had repeatedly clarified this position during the programme.
In its earlier order dated December 23, 2025, the NBDSA accepted the broadcaster’s explanation and held that the programme constituted a historical narrative supported by published material, including books and reports of the Archaeological Survey of India. It therefore found no violation of the Code of Conduct and closed the complaint.
However, in review proceedings, the authority revisited the issue and arrived at a different conclusion regarding the segment dealing with the Taj Mahal. The NBDSA observed that although neutrality does not necessarily require equal space for every viewpoint, broadcasters are nevertheless required to ensure that reporting remains balanced, accurate and consistent with principles of editorial fairness.
The authority found that the broadcaster had relied upon official records and ASI findings while discussing claims relating to the Qutub Minar, but failed to place before viewers comparable official material concerning the Taj Mahal. As a result, viewers were presented only with the claim that the monument had originally been a Hindu temple, without any reference to the contrary position reflected in official records and findings.
The NBDSA clarified that the issue was not whether equal prominence had been accorded to opposing viewpoints, but whether any counter-view grounded in authoritative and official sources had been presented at all. It held that the complete absence of such material in the Taj Mahal segment rendered the broadcast deficient in terms of neutrality and impartiality.
The authority observed that selective reliance on official records across different segments of the same programme undermined editorial consistency. While the broadcaster had invoked ASI reports to support certain historical claims elsewhere in the programme, it omitted comparable official findings relating to the Taj Mahal. According to the NBDSA, this inconsistent approach fell short of the standards prescribed under the Code of Conduct.
Holding that the omission of official records and established findings relating to the Taj Mahal undermined the neutrality and impartiality of the broadcast, the authority directed Aaj Tak to edit the programme insofar as the Taj Mahal segment was concerned and ensure that the impugned portions were either removed or suitably modified.
At the same time, the NBDSA declined to reopen or reconsider other aspects of the complaint. It refused to interfere with allegations relating to the overall communal tone of the programme, the alleged omission of legal context concerning the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, and reportage concerning tensions in Sambhal.
The review proceedings were accordingly disposed of with observations and corrective directions confined to the Taj Mahal segment of the broadcast. No monetary penalty was imposed on the broadcaster, and no further action was directed beyond modification of the programme.
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