India’s broadcast self-regulator has fined Zee News Rs 2 lakh for a protest story that, in the regulator’s view, turned a campus fee dispute into a communal provocation. The NBDSA order also forces removal of the segments and demands written compliance within seven days.
What the NBDSA found
On September 11, the News Broadcasting & Digital Standards Authority penalised Zee News for three segments aired on August 16, 2025, on Deshhit and DNA. The regulator found the channel used a 10-15 second slogan clip from an 18-minute speech and omitted the actual trigger: a nearly three-week AMU protest against a tuition fee hike.
Instead of the fee dispute, the coverage framed students as “anarchist elements”. On-screen text described a “Palestine-loving gang” at AMU that would receive “Yogi-style treatment”. The NBDSA said the language was provocative and more likely to incite action against students than to report the news.
- Fine: Rs 2 lakh, ordered September 11.
- Content: Three segments on Deshhit and DNA from August 16, 2025.
- Regulator’s concern: decontextualised slogan, communal frame, omission of the fee-hike cause.
- Remedy: remove content from all platforms and confirm compliance in writing.
The complaint and the channel’s defence
Complainant Talha Mannan, a PhD scholar at Maulana Azad National Urdu University and AMU alumnus, told the NBDSA that the slogans expressed solidarity with oppressed people and did not target any group or political organisation. The protest ended peacefully after the university accepted the fee-related demands, he said.
Two days after the broadcast, a Hindu Raksha Dal leader filed a police complaint against Mannan and nine unidentified students. Zee News denied that its coverage prompted the police complaint, said Mannan was no longer enrolled at AMU, and argued the clip was already circulating online before the segments aired.
Why this matters for media buyers
For media planners and entertainment marketers, the Rs 2 lakh fine is a small line item. The operational directive matters more: a national broadcaster must remove content from all platforms and create a written compliance record. That record is a practical input for brand-safety reviews and ad placement decisions.
This is not the first NBDSA action against Zee News. In October 2025, the regulator ordered removal of four reports in the “Mehendi Jihad” coverage and reprimanded Times Now Navbharat for “Love Jihad” reporting. In February, the NBDSA fined Zee News Rs 1 lakh for a false viral-video story about a truck driver praying on a highway, later debunked by Alt News; that case led to broader guidelines for stories sourced from social media.
The pattern is consistent: a short clip, a communal overlay, and a correction that arrives after the damage is done. For screen-business professionals, that is a measurable compliance risk rather than a passing controversy.
Source: MEDIANAMA
