SC rejects plea for 24-hour Sindhi language channel on Doordarshan

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea by a non-profit for issuing directives to the Union government to establish a 24-hour Sindhi language channel on Doordarshan to sustain and even revive the Sindhi culture and language.
“Can there be a fundamental right to have a channel started by a public broadcaster? No citizen can say that in pursuant to my fundamental rights, a separate channel in that language must be set up…there are other ways, which can be more effective,” stated a bench led by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud.
The bench, including justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, affirmed the Delhi high court’s May 27 order that a judicial mandate for a dedicated Sindhi channel was not tenable when there were other languages like Dogri, Santali, Bodo, and Sanskrit that are, like Sindhi, included in the 8th schedule of the Constitution, but have no dedicated government-run television channel. The high court had further pointed out that DD Girnar, DD Rajasthan and DD Sahyadri were broadcasting Sindhi programmes, which makes the test of “adequate coverage” contemplated in existing laws.
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During the hearing, senior advocate Indira Jaising, representing NGO Sindhi Sangat, argued that a dedicated public broadcast channel would be a significant step in preserving the Sindhi language. She further emphasised that the top court could mould the relief suitably in case it was not inclined to entertain the plea for a dedicated news channel.
“The idea is to ensure that the Sindhi culture and language is duly sustained and promoted. The State has a duty to protect the linguistic interests,” said Jaising.
The Supreme Court, however, suggested that other avenues could be explored for language preservation, granting Jaising liberty to move a fresh plea with appropriate reliefs.
The NGO had challenged the Delhi high court’s May 27 order, which upheld Prasar Bharati’s decision not to launch a full-time Sindhi language channel. The high court had stated that the NGO failed to establish a legal or constitutional right to demand a dedicated channel, and its plea was therefore “misplaced.”
According to the court, Section 12(2)(d) of the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act, 1990, mandates “adequate coverage” for India’s diverse languages and cultures, but does not necessarily require a separate channel for each language.
Prasar Bharati argued in the high court that, given the population of approximately 2.6 million Sindhi speakers nationwide, a full-time Sindhi channel would not be sustainable. The public broadcaster also highlighted that programmes in Sindhi are regularly broadcast on regional channels such as DD Girnar, DD Rajasthan and DD Sahyadri, which cover areas with high concentrations of Sindhi speakers—namely, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. These channels are accessible nationwide and are available on the DTH1 platform.
The high court then noted that Prasar Bharati’s decision to air Sindhi programming on existing regional channels appeared to meet the “adequate coverage” standard as outlined in the Prasar Bharati Act. It concluded that this approach was reasonable and rational, given the distribution of Sindhi speakers across the country.