British television network Channel 4 is being sued by an English race equality group, advised by a leading Scottish Asian lawyer for the racial slurs suffered by Shilpa Shetty on their reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother.
London, June 18 : British television network Channel 4 is being sued by an English race equality group, advised by a leading Scottish Asian lawyer for the racial slurs suffered by Shilpa Shetty on their reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother.
The South West Racial Equality Council Network (SWRECN) has hired Edinburgh-based attorney Dr Raj Jandoo to prepare their case, to be presented at the High Court in London, stating that Channel 4, in airing segments that showed Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara ganging up against Shetty, and calling her names such as 'Shilpa poppadam'.The group insists that in doing so, the network broke its legal compulsion to protect the public from offensive material.
If Channel 4 loses the case it faces a hefty fine, reports the Scotsman.
The lawsuit is the first to arise after the series was shown, and Goody and her gang were accused of being racist.
SWRECN will be stating in its lawsuit that the broadcaster, as a public body, breached its duty under section two of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 to eliminate unlawful discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and promote good relations between people of different racial groups.
SWRECN is now asking the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) to take on the case, as the commission has the deep pockets that could be needed to the court fight.
SWRECN vice-chairwoman Alexandra MacRae said: "We believe that the CRE has the funds to take this case on and are looking to them to take action. But be in no doubt that our position is to proceed with litigation, and if they do not go ahead then we will be looking to other options to fund a case.
"Ideally, this should have been solved by Channel 4 themselves at the time rather than by court action, and they are obliged to train their staff and draw up guidelines so that nothing like this could happen."
Dr Jandoo, who rose to prominence after investigating police and prosecutors' handling of a racist murder in Scotland, said that it was not the main issue that Shilpa went on to win the show, or has since tried to play down the affair.
"The victim's view is not always the test. In a racist incident, just as with other kinds of bullying, the victim is usually in a weaker position and is always under pressure to play things down," he said.
"Channel 4, as a named public body, under the Act has certain responsibilities and failed to uphold them. They failed in their duty of care to Shilpa Shetty and to the viewer, and offended hundreds of thousands of people," he added.
A spokeswoman for Channel 4 refused to comment.
ANI
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