New Delhi, March 18 The NHRC has issued a notice to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the censor board in response to a complaint alleging that the lyrics of the song "Sarke Chunar" from an upcoming film contain "vulgar, sexually suggestive, and double-meaning" words which are inappropriate for public consumption, especially for children, according to the case proceedings.
The song, from Sanjay Dutt's "KD The Devil", which also sparked outrage on social media and elsewhere, has now disappeared from the official YouTube page, although it was played repeatedly and shared on social media platforms.
The complainant alleged that the recently released song from the upcoming film "contains vulgar, sexually suggestive, and double-meaning lyrics that are inappropriate for public consumption, especially for children," according to the proceedings dated March 17.
The complaint states that such content is "widely accessible" through television, social media, and other public platforms, which may "negatively impact the mental well-being and moral environment of minors," it says.
The complainant further alleges that the "increasing trend of explicit lyrical content in mainstream entertainment" contributes to "normalizing inappropriate expressions among young audiences," the proceedings read.
Therefore, the complainant sought the intervention of the National Human Rights Commission and requested that it take cognizance of the matter.
It also urged seeking a report from the certification authority concerned, and issuing necessary guidelines and advisories to "regulate such content and safeguard children's rights," it adds.
The allegations made in the complaint appear to be "violations" of human rights.
A bench of the NHRC, presided over by its member, Priyank Kanoongo, has taken cognizance under Section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, the proceedings read.
The registry is directed to issue a notice to the Chairman, Central Board of Film Certification, Mumbai, Maharashtra; the secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology; the secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting; and the head or India lead of core government affairs and public policy for Google India, with directions to investigate the allegations, and to submit an action taken report within two weeks for perusal by the Commission, it says.
The notice has been marked to "Country Managing Director for YouTube India, Google LLC," as per the proceedings.
Songwriter Raqueeb Alam on Tuesday sought to distance himself from the raging controversy over the sexually explicit lyrics of "Sarke Chunar", saying the track was a translation from the original Kannada and he had initially refused to do it.
The Kannada film, which will be dubbed in four languages, will be released on April 30.