The High Commission of India in London has condemned the behavior of attendees at a lecture by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, after a video showing an attendee being stopped from asking a question about dissent in India circulated widely on social media.
The Indian mission's statement followed the spread of clips from an interactive session after the CJI's lecture on 'Artificial Intelligence and International Law' at Birkbeck College, University of London, on June 4.
The High Commission said 'such indecorous audience behavior is unacceptable and inconsistent with respectful engagement that should govern public discourse.'
A woman in the audience was stopped from asking a question about dissent in India, with the person on stage conducting the session declining to take it, citing the topic as concerning artificial intelligence and international law.
The incident follows a similar moment during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Norway in May, where a journalist called out to Modi for not taking questions from the press.
