The News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority has criticised TV news anchor Sudhir Chaudhary for making derogatory comments about the LGBTQ community and the Supreme Court while covering the same-sex marriage case, Bar and Bench reported on Wednesday.

The regulatory body ordered news channels Aaj Tak and India Today to crop out the remarks from the video clips of the TV shows hosted by Chaudhary.

This needs to be done within one week of the authority’s order passed on January 24, Live Law reported.

A common order was passed on four complaints.

Justice (Retired) AK Sikri, the chairperson of the authority, found that several comments made by Chaudhary against the LGBTQ community in a part of his Black and White show televised on Aaj Tak channel in April 2023 were not in good taste, Bar and Bench reported.

The authority said that Chaudhary had violated guidelines pertaining to hate speech, neutrality and impartiality principles in news broadcasts, Newslaundry reported.

The manner in which the anchor portrayed the community “violates their dignity”, said the order.

“A well-informed person like the anchor, that too of a national channel, is supposed to respect those rights [of the LGBTQ persons] which even the law recognises,” said the regulatory body. “In this context, it has to be emphasised that even the persons belonging to this community are to be treated as normal human beings and, more importantly, with due dignity.”

It also found that Chaudhary had made misleading comments about the Supreme Court and DY Chandrachud, the chief justice of India at the time.

In October 2023, the Supreme Court refused to legalise same-sex marriages in India, contending that this issue must be decided by Parliament and that there is no fundamental right to marriage. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chandrachud delivered the verdict in response to a series of pleas seeking legal recognition for same-sex marriages.

However, the bench had recorded a statement from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that the Union government will form a committee to decide the rights and entitlements of persons in queer unions.

The court had directed the Centre and the state governments to ensure that members of the queer community are not discriminated against because of their identity.

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