pankaj immj
TRANSCRIPT
SUBJECT: INTRODUCTION TO MASS MEDIA AND JOURNALISM
[INTERNAL ASSESSMENT OF 4TH SEMESTER ]
[PROJECT TOPIC: PRESS HISTORY: 200 YEARS OF THE INDIAN PRESS ] ”
SUBMITTED TO: MRS. ASHU MAHRSHI SUBMITTED BY: AKASH SHRIVASTAVA
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF LAW 10TH SEMESTER
SEEDLING SCHOOL OF LAW AND GOVERNANCE
JAIPUR NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
THE 1799 REGULATIONS................................................................................................................3
RIFT IN COUNCIL............................................................................................................................4
PRESS REGULATIONS REPEALED...................................................................................................4
THE GAGGING ACT........................................................................................................................5
THE UNDERGROUND PRESS: 1931. 1942. 1975.............................................................................6
THE ROWLATT ACT AND ITS AFTERMATH....................................................................................9
MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION.....................................................................................................10
MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION LAWS IN INDIA..........................................................................11
FREEDOM OF PRESS......................................................................................................................11
THE PRESS AND REGISTRATION OF BOOKS ACT, 1867..............................................................11
THE NEWSPAPER (PRICES AND PAGES) ACT, 1956....................................................................12
THE PRESS COUNCIL ACT, 1978..................................................................................................12
THE CONTEMPT OF COURTS ACT, 1971.....................................................................................12
THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005...................................................................................13
THE LAW OF COPYRIGHT............................................................................................................13
TRAI’S DTH REGULATION.........................................................................................................14
ADVERTISING STANDARDS COUNCIL OF INDIA..........................................................................14
THE PRASAR BHARATI (BROADCASTING CORPORATION OF INDIA).........................................15
THE TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA................................................................15
CABLE TELEVISION NETWORKS REGULATION..........................................................................15
LAW RELATING TO OBJECTIONABLE ADVERTISEMENTS OF DRUG AND MAGIC REMEDIES. .16
LAW RELATING TO DELIVERY OF BOOKS AND NEWSPAPERS TO PUBLIC LIBRARIES.............16
THE PRESS COUNCIL OF INDIA'S NORMS OF JOURNALISTIC CONDUCT...................................17
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LAW RELATING TO OFFICIAL SECRETS......................................................................................17
CONDITIONS OF SERVICE OF THE WORKING JOURNALISTS AND OTHER NEWSPAPER
EMPLOYEES...................................................................................................................................17
CINE WORKER’S WELFARE CESS...............................................................................................18
CINE WORKERS WELFARE FUND................................................................................................18
LAWS RELATING TO THE PRESS..................................................................................................18
1. CONSTITUTION OF INDIA...................................................................................................18
2. PRESS LAWS/ACTS.............................................................................................................18
3. RELEVANT PROVISIONS OF INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860.................................................19
4. Relevant Provisions of Cr. P.C., 1973 (Act No. lI of 1974)...............................................20
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INTRODUCTION
The two-hundred-year history of the Indian Press, from the time of Hicky to the present day, is
the history of a struggle for freedom, which has not yet ended. There have been alternating
periods of freedom and of restrictions on freedom amounting to repression. The pioneering
works on the Indian Press, like that of Margarita Barns, were stories of arbitrariness and
despotism, of reform and relaxation. The story of the Indian Press is a story of steady expansion
but also one of Press laws.
James Augustus Hicky had to fight for freedom from the time he started the
Bengal Gazette on January 29, 1780. He introduced himself as the first and late printer to the
Honorable East India Company though he did not seem to have enjoyed a high reputation. I have
no particular passion for printing of newspapers; I have no propensity I was not for a slavish life
of hard W pork, yet I take a pleasure in enslaving my body in order to purchase freedom for my
mind and soul. His two-sheet Gazette was a weekly political and commercial paper open to all
parties but influenced by none, specializing in the exposure of the private lives of servants of the
Company including the governor-general, Warren Hastings. He was sued for libel, fined and
imprisoned, edited his Gazette even from prison, and was ultimately impoverished.
Hicky was a pioneer and he had several followers. There was no freedom of the Press as such
then; there were no Press laws. There was both censorship and pre-censorship. There was a law
of libel but few observed it. The Press worked in a no-man’s land like the Company itself. Hicky
and his followers were pioneers of scurrilous writing, as well as pioneers of freedom.
THE 1799 REGULATIONS In May 1799, the first Press regulations were issued requiring newspaper to carry the names of
the printer, the editor and the proprietor, who were to declare themselves to the Secretary to the
Government and to submit all material published in newspapers to his scrutiny. The Secretary
was the censor and immediate deportation was the punishment for breach of the rules. Wellesley
was at this time fighting Tipoo and the French, and later the Second Maratha War. Restrictions
were imposed from time to time for non-observance of pre-censorship and censorship rules.
Editors were repeatedly warned. In 1818, pre-censorship was abolished as Lord Hastings,
governor-general, wanted to throw the responsibility wholly on editors.
James Buckingham and Raja Rammohan Roy were great fighters for freedom of the Press at this
period. Hastings was liberal but John Adam, Chief Secretary, was not. In a statement explaining
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his order for the deportation of Buckingham, he said he objected “tohe assumption by an editor
of a newspaper of the privilege of sitting in judgement on the acts of Government and bringing
public measures and conduct of public men as well as the conduct of private individuals before
the bar of what Buckingham and his associates miscall public opinion. When Adam became
Acting governor-general, he was responsible for the first Press ordinance in India, which was
approved by the Court of Directors. In essence, the ordinance required that all matter printed in a
Press or published thereafter should be printed and published under a licence from the Governor-
General-in-Council signed by the Chief Secretary to the Government. Magistrates were given
immense powers and severe penalties were provided for the circulation of proscribed literature.
The regulations promulgated by Adam were apparently directed against newspapers published in
the Indian languages and edited by Indians. Ram Mohan Roy’s Miratul-Akhbar ceased
publication in protest. Even the British-owned English language newspapers received warnings
periodically.
RIFT IN COUNCIL Lord William Bentinck, who introduced radical reforms in other fields and was helped by a
Liberal regime in Britain, saw the advantage of newspapers published in the Indian languages
working for social reform and relaxed restrictions imposed on the Press and introduced a liberal
policy to. wards the Press. In this he was greatly influenced by Sir Charles Metcalfe, a member
of his Council.
When Metcalfe became Acting governor-general, he was helped by Macaulay and freed the
Press and made English the official language. Metcalfe, in a note, said I take it as universally
granted that the Press ought to be free, subject, of course, to the laws, provided that it be not
dangerous to the stability of our Indian Empire. He further said: "I have, for my own part, always
advocated the liberty of the Press, believing its benefits to outweigh its mischiefs; and I continue
of the same opinion." But the governor-general's Council decided by a majority in favour of
imposing restrictions.
PRESS REGULATIONS REPEALED As governor-general, Metcalfe followed the policy he had advocated as member of the Council.
Macaulay, as member of the Council, supported him and wrote in a note: "We are exposed to all
the dangers, dangers I conceive, greatly over-rated of a free Press; and at the same time we
continue to incur all the opprobrium of a censorship." The Bengal Press Regulations of 1823 and
the Bombay Press Regulations of 1825 and 1827 were repealed and a new Act was passed by the
governor-general with the unanimous support of his Council. The Court of Directors were angry
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with Metcalfe for having substituted the new law for the old without a reference to them.
Metcalfe was not confirmed as governor-general. But Lord Auckland, who succeeded him, did
not reverse his policy. There was no change in the Government's policy towards the Press from
1836 to 1856, the period covering the Governor-Generalships of Auckland, Elienborough,
Hardinge and Dalhousie. Act No. XI of 1835, passed by Metcalfe, allowed the Press to develop
rapidly in Bengal, Bombay, Madras and the North-West Provinces. This progress was
interrupted by the Great Rebellion of 1857 for which seditious writings and the tone of the
vernacular Press were considered to have been preparing the ground.
THE GAGGING ACT Under Canning, Queen Victoria's proclamation and his later policy of clemency, an Act for
regulating the Press re-enacted with slight modifications the provisions of the Adam regulation
of 1823 for the whole of India. The provisions of the Metcalfe statute were also retained. The
new Act thus restored the system of licences in addition to the existing registration procedure.
This was called the Gagging Act. After he became Viceroy and power was transferred from the
Company to the Crown, Canning responded to the spirit of the new times and the Press felt
somewhat free again.
Lord Lytton became the Viceroy in 1876 and made his regime notorious for the Vernacular Press
Act. He had a pile of documents before him on the transgressions of the Indian languages Press.
The new Act’s main objects were to place newspapers published in the languages of India under
"better control" and to furnish the Government with more effective means of publishing and
discouraging seditious writings calculated to produce disaffection towards the Government in the
minds of the ignorant population. The Act excited fierce criticism. In 1880, the Liberals came to
power in Britain and Gladstone, who had denounced the Act, was Prime Minister. The new
Viceroy, Ripon, was instructed to repeal the Act. It was a period of relaxation. The Indian
National Congress was founded. Mill, Bright and Morley gave hope to Indian leaders.
The subsequent periods of strain for the Indian Press were during the days of the Partition of
Bengal, the First World War, Gandhi’s movements, the Second World War and the Quit-India-
Movement. Under the Press Emergency Powers Act, which was for long on the statute book, and
the Defence of India Rules, independent papers suffered. After Independence too, the Press had
to be vigilant. There was a battle over amendment of article 19(2). The most recent struggle was
during the Emergency. The case for making freedom of expression and information more
fundamental under the Constitution is before the Second Press Commission. There should be
some permanent normalcy for the Press in all conditions, though it requiries reform and self-6
regulation. It does not deserve to be subjected to alternate fits of liberalism and repression, which
has been its history.
THE UNDERGROUND PRESS: 1931. 1942. 1975 During the Independence struggle our foreign rulers did not allow the publication of anything
they considered ‘seditious’. Naturally, those who had their stakes in such ‘seditious’ material had
to resort to underground publications. The printing presses were not in abundance in those days.
Also, most press owners were reluctant to print anti-Government literature. However, the
‘seditious’ books were published regularly, and banned as regularly by the British Rulers.
Interestingly, it was seldom that any press was confiscated for the publication of subversive
literature, Newspapers and journals could even publish some of the news or incidents connected
with the freedom struggle. For example, Gandhiji’s Dandi March to violate Salt Laws was
reported in all the papers. But complete censorship was imposed on the vernacular Press when
Gandhiji’s arrest led to country-wide disturbances and the detention of about 60,000 persons.
The arrests of persons connected with overground publications led the freedom-fighters to
publish everything in the underground. During the 1 930s the weekly Swadhinata of Calcutta
regularly published news of the freedom struggle. Four of its editors were convicted and the
paper was ultimately banned from April 11, 1931 but ‘seditious’ reports kept being reproduced
and circulated secretly. Similarly, when the Bengali daily Sandhya was banned, it continued to
be published secretly. The Bengali weekly Jugan tar used to preach revolution openly. When
four of its editors were consecutively convicted, the paper started its publication secretly. This
indicates that the publishers and distributors of underground publications had a close-knit
organisation manned by dedicated and resourceful persons. The situation was a bit different in
1942. After the Congress Working Committee passed its famous ‘Quit India’ resolution on
August 9 in Bombay, Gandhiji and other Congress leaders were arrested. The British
Government imposed certain restrictions on the Press regarding the coverage of news and
comments relating to the mass movement that was launched after the arrest of the Congress. But
due to loopholes in the restrictions the major papers of the country could publish the news of the
arrest of the leaders and of demonstrations and protests in the country.
These were published prominently on the front page of the nationalist dailies. Newspapers could
also report the manner of the leaders’ arrests. Critical comments against the British Government
also appeared in many newspapers. There was no such thing as pre. censorship. Naturally, there
was less need for an underground Press in 1942. However, much underground literature was
published and circulated by different groups who could not escape the ire of the British 7
administration, loopholes or no loopholes. The Congress Socialist Party, the Revolutionary
Socialist Party, Forward Block and the Revolutionary Communist Party were some such groups.
The situation was entirely different when the internal Emergency was imposed in the country on
June 26, 1975 and subsequent amendments were made in the MISA to detain any person without
trial. The Government suppressed transmission of news from one place to another by imposing
censorship on newspapers, journals, radio, TV, telex, telegrams, news agencies and on foreign
correspondents. Even teleprinter services were subjected to pre-censorship. The censorship was
total and unparalleled in Indian history. - The news agencies had to get all the news censored in
Delhi before transmission. Newspapers again had to submit already censored news for re-
censorship in their respective headquarters. Even the contents of advertisements, cartoons etc.
were subjected to either precensorship or censor guide lines.
The circulation of foreign papers was also subjected to censorship. The Press Information Bureau
was assigned the job of reading all foreign papers and journals and was empowered to order
confiscation if necessary. A large number of foreign journalists were extorted as they refused to
send news according to the dictates of the then Press Adviser to the Government of India. As a
result there was a complete black-out of all truthful news. Newspapers could not publish the
news of arrests of the opposition leaders or of what was happening in the country. For the first
few days the people had to rely solely on foreign radio and rumours. Of course, The Hindusthan
Standard of Calcutta, Motherland of Delhi, some papers in Tamil Nadu, the North Bengal edition
of Ananda Bazar Patrika and one edition of The Statesman, (Calcutta) could publish the news of
the arrests of the Opposition leaders,. but people in general were unaware of those arrests.
People were hungry for news. But the problem of collecting information was as serious as the
publication and distribution of underground literature. The police took to arresting people at mid-
night. Letters were taken from Post Offices without informing the addressees, telephones were
tapped and police informers sent everywhere. An all round fear-psychosis was created. It was not
an easy job for any printing press to publish underground literature. The risk of being arrested
was always there. There was also a risk of the press being sealed by the police. Distribution of
literature was also a serious problem : how and to whom the literature would be sent? How to
know who were the sympathisers? The cost of distribution proved to be very high compared to
the cost of publication. Initially, most of the newssheets were cyclostyled. In the absence of hard
news, newssheetswriters relied on foreign radios and the so-called ‘information’ supplied by
their known persons. There were references to articles printed in foreign papers. The distribution
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of zerox copies of relevant news and articles from foreign papers started in Bombay. After a few
months the publication of underground literature in India became a little organised. The
existence of non-Congress Governments in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu helped such publications.
The Tamil language papers remained free for some time to publish news against the Emergency
rule. A large number of Indians residing in the U.K., Canada, the U.S.A. and elsewhere
organised themselves along- with the liberal democrats or (Gujarati), Radical Humanist, these
countries to hold protest Himmat, Janata, Quest, Tughlak meetings and demonstrations, Tamil),
Daily Morosoli (Tamil), the publish booklets, journals and news- Indian Express, The Statesman,
sheets in those countries and to People edited by N. G. Gore advertise in papers like the Times of
after the stoppage of publication of London against the dictatorial regime Janata, uncensored
Kolkata, xerox in India. They formed the "Free copies of Indian news published in J.P.
Committee" in England, the foreign Press, anti-Emergency "Committee for Freedom" and the
publications by Indians abroad like "Committee for Civil Liberty in Swarajya (England),
Satyavani, India" and regularly sent literature Indian Opinion (USA), Democracy or to thousands
of addressees in India. Dictatorship in India (published by Political workers as well as the
committee for "Freedom in known party writers, journalists and India"), news of Amesty
Internaintellectuals became involved in the National and Socialist International, publication of
underground literature, important judgements and satya-There was a dearth of finance as grahas
in different states provided moneyed men were unwilling to help material for the underground
Press. underground publications.
The largest amount of underground owners of printing presses had a literature was published in
three grand times. Many of them did not publish anything nor did they return Maharashtra
(because J.P. was the money. Still, lakhs of people staying in a Bombay Hospital) and were
involved in the production and in Bihar the Chhatra Sangh had distribution of underground
literature. This was evident from titles which included books, booklets, of Om Mehta, the Home
Minister for State and newssheets, leaflets and letters. Janata Chapun, an underground Gujarati
paper, was seized and more than regularly at least three times a week people had been arrested in
and during the Emergency. intensive drive to stop the circulation On All India basis, there were
of clandestine literature opposing four parallel arrangements to India's state of Emergency.
coordinate the collection of news (Financial Times, London, June 18, and to distribute
underground 1976). Men like Nanaji Deshmukh, Surendra B. G. Rao (Retd. I.C.S.) of Delhi
(Satya used the name of Lok Sangharsha Samachar), K. S. Hegde, (Retd. Justice of Supreme
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Court and the former Speaker of Lok Sabha), Samity and their newssheets contained only news
and quotations These were published in English) of Bangalore(Kahai) and Hindi, Bengali,
Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada and in other major Indian languages. A.D. Gorwala (Retd. I.CS.) of
Bombay (cyclostyled Opinion) Jana Sangharsha leaders also involved in the publication of
underground newssheets. Foreign papers and journals, foreign radio, foreign journalists, booklets
and States, exchanged information and letters written by J.P. and others helped different units to
publish underground literature. Some overground publications like Desai through Bhumiputra
published Bhumiputra (Gujarati), Sadhana from Ahmedabad, disseminated important
information throughout the country. George Fernandes set the pace of the underground
movement from another direction. His letters published in different languages contained news
and criticism of Indira Gandhi’s accusations against the Opposition as well as the nature of the
movement to dislodge the dictatorial regime of Mrs Gandhi. In terms of letters published in the
underground possibly Fernandes ranks next only to J.P.
In the States, many more groups were involved in the publication of underground literature. In
Bihar, Chhatra Sangharsha Samity and Yuva Sangharsha Samity and in Punjab the Akali Dal
were very active. In West Bengal, Paschimbanga Nagarik Samity, Kolkata and Khabar groups
along with Sangram, and in Orissa, Srimati Rama Devi, the Sarvodaya leader, were very active
in the publication and distribution of underground literature. In Delhi, Delhi University and JNU
students were also very active groups. Books like Why Emergency?, Lies Unmasked, .P. "Prison
Diary", Tortures of Political Prisoners in India, Snehalata Reddy’s Prison Diary and Delhi Under
Emergency were published in the underground. When it was difficult to publish articles in
journals, they were published in book form because books were not subjected to pre-censorship.
Ananda Shankar Ray’s Kando-Priya Desh was one such book.
The production and distribution of underground literature brought the journalists, writers, college
and University teachers and political workers together. When elections to the Lok Sabha were
declared on January 19, 1977, Janata Party got the active support of all these and of the
organisational network of the underground Press
THE ROWLATT ACT AND ITS AFTERMATH The positive impact of reform was seriously undermined in 1919 by the Rowlatt Act, named
after the recommendations made the previous year to the Imperial Legislative Council by the
Rowlatt Commission, which had been appointed to investigate "seditious conspiracy." The
Rowlatt Act, also known as the Black Act, vested the Viceroy's government with extraordinary
powers to quell sedition by silencing the press, detaining political activists without trial, and 10
arresting any individuals suspected of sedition or treason without a warrant. In protest, a
nationwide cessation of work (hartal) was called, marking the beginning of widespread, although
not nationwide, popular discontent.
The agitation unleashed by the acts culminated on 13 April 1919, in the Amritsar Massacre in
Amritsar, Punjab. The British military commander, Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, ordered
his soldiers to fire into an unarmed and unsuspecting crowd of some 10,000 people. They had
assembled at Jallianwala Bagh, a walled garden, to celebrate Baisakhi, a Sikh festival, without
prior knowledge of the imposition of martial law. A total of 1,650 rounds were fired, killing 379
people and wounding 1,137 in the episode, which dispelled wartime hopes of home rule and
goodwill in a frenzy of postwar reaction.
MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION Communication is the procedure, which we use to exchange information by various methods.
And media is the medium or instrument of storing or communicating information. Media and
Communication system is different in every country depending on its economy, polity, religion
and culture. In communist and totalitarian countries like USSR and China, there were serious
limitations on the media. Any criticism about the state was repressed. While in America having
Bourgeois, people enjoy great freedom in the sphere of media and communication. Few years
ago, before the era of Communication Satellites, the national media, both public and private, was
the medium of communication all over the world. With the advent of communication
technologies like Satellite Delivery and ISDN, came the transnational media and brought with it
the facilities of local TV, global films, and global information system. In the new democratic
states, various media associations have been formed to fight for just and open media laws,
defend civil rights of journalists and promote industry reforms. In the wake of the rapid growth
and independence of the mass media, there arose the need of some laws and regulations. The
legal infrastructure of a country determines freedom of the media to perform its functions. The
International regulating agency in the arena of media and communications is the International
Telecommunication Union, which is the prime agency of the UNO for information and
communication technologies. It governs the areas of radio communication, standardization and
development. ITU is situated at Geneva, Switzerland, and it includes one hundred and ninety-one
member states and more than seven hundred sector members and associates. It promotes the
adoption and implementation of fair media laws for the transition from an autocratic to a
democratic society. Every democratic nation has respective laws to regulate the various branches
of public media and mass media.11
MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION LAWS IN INDIA The evolution of the Media and Communication Laws in India has been greatly influenced by
the history of British colonization in India. The first Media and Communication Law in India
dates back to 1799 when Lord Wellesley passed the Press Regulation. It imposed pre-censorship
on the newspaper publishing industry. The Press Act of 1835 annulled all the previous repressive
laws on media and communication. Then came the Gagging Act on 18th June 1857. It introduced
compulsory licensing for the owning or running of printing presses, empowered the government
to prohibit the publication or circulation of any newspaper, book or other printed material and
banned the publication or dissemination of statements or news stories which had a tendency to
cause furore against the government, thereby undermining its authority.
The Press and Registration of Books Act was passed in 1867 and till today this Act is in force.
The Vernacular Press Act of 1878 was promulgated by General Lord Litton, which authorized
the government to repress the publication of seditious writings and to impose punitive sanctions
on printers and publishers failing to conform the law. The Newspapers (incitement to offences)
Act was passed in 1908 with the initiation of Lord Minto to prohibit publication deemed to incite
rebellion.
FREEDOM OF PRESS The freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by the Constitution of India ensures the right
to express one’s strong belief and opinions freely by word, writing, printing, picture or electronic
media or in any other form of expression. Thus, this freedom implies the freedom of press in the
absence of any separate provision of freedom of press in the Constitution. However, the freedom
of press is not absolute. It is subject to certain reasonable restrictions. The Constitution also
imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right to freedom of press in the interests of
the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign
States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or
incitement to an offence.
THE PRESS AND REGISTRATION OF BOOKS ACT, 1867 The Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 has been enacted for the regulation of printing-
presses and newspapers, for the preservation of copies of books and newspapers printed in India
and for the registration of such books and newspapers. This is the oldest law relating to the press,
still existing in India. This regulatory law was aimed to enable the government to regulate
printing presses and newspapers and other matter printed in India. Several minor amendments
were made in the Act to fulfill the need of the changing situation. However, on the basis of the
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recommendations of the First Press Commission in 1953, a major amendment was made in the
Act which created the Office of the Registrar of Newspapers of India (RNI) and laid down its
duties and functions. It started to function in 1956. The Act contains the particulars to be printed
on books and papers, rules as to publication of newspapers and requires the keeper of printing
press to make certain declarations.
THE NEWSPAPER (PRICES AND PAGES) ACT, 1956 The Newspaper (Prices and Pages) Act, 1956 was enacted to provide for the regulation of the
prices charged for newspapers in relation to their pages and of matters connected therewith for
the purpose of preventing unfair competition among newspapers so that newspapers may have
fuller opportunities of freedom of expression. The Act empowers the central government to make
orders providing for the regulation of the prices charged for newspapers in relation to their
maximum or minimum number of pages, sizes or areas and for the space to be allotted for
advertising matter in relation to other matters therein for the purpose of preventing unfair
competition among newspapers so that newspapers generally and in particular, newspapers with
smaller resources and those published in Indian languages may have fuller opportunities of
freedom of expression. The Act further provides the Central Government shall, before making
any order, consult associations of publishers and such publishers likely to be affected by the
order. The Act prohibits publication and sale of newspapers in contravention of any order made
under the provisions of this Act.
THE PRESS COUNCIL ACT, 1978 The Press Council Act, 1978 was enacted with an objective to establish a Press council for the
purpose of preserving the freedom of the Press and of maintaining the standards of newspaper
and news agencies in India. The provisions of this Act established the Press Council of India
which is a body corporate having perpetual succession, with effect from 1st March 1979. The
Press Council of India is empowered to make observations in respect of conduct of any authority
including Government, if considered necessary for performance of its functions under the Act.
The Council can warn, admonish or censure the newspaper, the news agency, the editor or the
journalist or disapprove the conduct of the editor or the journalist if it finds that a newspaper or a
news agency has not complied with the standards of journalistic ethics or public taste or that an
editor or a working journalist has committed any professional misconduct.
THE CONTEMPT OF COURTS ACT, 1971 The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 has been enacted to define and limit the powers of certain
courts in punishing contempt of courts and to regulate their procedure in relation thereto.
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Punishment for contempt affects two important fundamental rights of the citizens, namely, the
right to personal liberty and the right to freedom of expression. According to the provisions of
this Act, contempt of court means civil contempt or criminal contempt. Civil contempt means
willful disobedience to any judgment, decree, direction, order, writ or other process of a court or
willful breach of an undertaking given to a court. Criminal contempt means the publication,
whether by words, spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, of
any matter or the doing of any other act which lowers the authority of any court. The Act
provides that any act done or writing published which is calculated to bring a court or a judge
into contempt, or to lower his authority, or to interfere with the due course of justice or the
lawful process of the court, is a contempt of court.
THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005 The Right to Information Act, 2005 has been enacted to provide for right to information for
citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities, in order to
promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority, the
constitution of a Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions and for
matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. For the proper functioning of every democratic
nation, it is important to have informed citizens and transparency of information and also to
contain corruption and to hold governments and their instrumentalities accountable to the
citizens. Subject to the provisions of this Act, all citizens shall have the right to information.
According to the provisions of this Act, ‘information’ means any material in any form, including
records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders,
logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form
and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under
any other law for the time being in force and ‘right to information’ means the right to
information accessible under this Act which is held by or under the control of any public
authority and includes the right to inspection of work, documents, records; right to take notes,
extracts or certified copies of documents or records; right to take certified samples of material;
and right to obtain information in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in any
other electronic mode or through printouts where such information is stored in a computer or in
any other device;
THE LAW OF COPYRIGHT The Copyright Act, 1957 has been enacted with an objective to amend and consolidate the law
relating to copyright in India. The Act has been legislated in compliance with the international
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conventions and treaties in the field of copyrights. India is a member of the Berne Convention of
1886 (as modified at Paris in 1971), the Universal Copyright Convention of 1951 and the
Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement of
1995. India is not a member of the Rome Convention of 1961, but the provisions of the
Copyright Act, 1957 is in conformity with the Rome Convention provisions. The Act requires for
the establishment of a Copyright Office headed by Registrar of Copyrights to be appointed by
the Central Government, who would act under the superintendence and directions of the Central
Government.
The Act requires the Central Government to constitute the Copyright Board for the execution of
the provisions of this Act. The Act defines copyright as the exclusive right subject to the
provisions of this Act, to do or authorise the doing of certain acts specified therein in respect of a
work or any substantial part thereof.
TRAI’S DTH REGULATION The Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection (Fourth
Amendment) Regulation, 2007 addresses the regulatory provisions on interconnection issues
relating to DTH services. In 2001 the Govt. of India issued the DTH guidelines and licensing
conditions. Free-to-air DTH services are being offered by Doordarshan. The pay DTH services
have been started by two DTH operators. More pay DTH operators are in the process of rolling
out their services. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, TRAI has issued a new regulation
for Direct to Home Broadcasting Services for the welfare of DTH subscribers. By virtue of this
new regulation, the DTH Operator now cannot disable the set-top boxes of the subscribers who
want to discontinue the DTH service. This regulation will ensure the welfare of the DTH
subscribers against the cable operators who charges their clients on the behalf of several schemes
and plans without giving them prior information.
DTH = Direct to home
ADVERTISING STANDARDS COUNCIL OF INDIA The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) is a self regulatory voluntary organization of
the advertising industry. It was set up in October 1985. The ASCI and its Consumer Complaints
Council deals with complaints received from consumers and industry, against Ads which are
considered as False, Misleading, Indecent, Illegal, leading to Unsafe practices, or Unfair to
competition, and consequently in contravention of the ASCI Code for Self-Regulation in
Advertising. The representatives of Indian Society of Advertisers, the Advertising Agencies
Association of India and the Indian Newspapers Society have set up the Council to self-regulate
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the content of advertisements. The Code of the Council for Self-Regulation in Advertising
specifies that all advertising should be truthful, honest, decent, legal and safe for consumers
particularly minors, and fair to the competition.
THE PRASAR BHARATI (BROADCASTING CORPORATION OF INDIA) The Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act, 1990 has been enacted to provide
for the establishment of Broadcasting Corporation for India, to be known as Prasar Bharati, to
define its composition, functions and powers and to provide for matters connected therewith or
incidental thereto. The Act provides that the Broadcasting Corporation of India shall be a body
corporate having perpetual succession. Regarding the functions and powers of the corporation,
the Act lays down that subject to the provisions of this Act, it shall be the primary duty of the
Corporation to organise and conduct public broadcasting services to inform, educate and
entertain the public and to ensure a balanced development of broadcasting on radio and
television.
THE TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 has been enacted with an objective to
provide for the establishment of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the Telecom
Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal for the purpose of regulating the Tele-
communication services, adjudicate disputes, dispose of appeals and to protect the interests of
service providers and consumers of the telecom sector, to promote and ensure orderly growth of
the telecom sector, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession. Subject to
the provisions of this act, TRAI shall have the power to acquire, hold and dispose of property,
both movable and immovable, and to contract, and shall, by the said name, sue or be sued.
CABLE TELEVISION NETWORKS REGULATION The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 has been legislated to regulate the
operation of cable television networks in the country and for matters connected therewith or
incidental thereto. According to the provisions of this Act, ‘cable television network’ means any
system consisting of a set of closed transmission paths and associated signal generation, control
and distribution equipment, designed to provide cable service for reception by multiple
subscribers. The Act prohibits the operation of cable television network by any person unless he
is registered as a cable operator under this Act subject to certain provisions. Regarding the
registration as cable operator the Act provides that any person who is operating or is desirous of
operating a cable television network may apply for registration as a cable operator to the
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registering authority. The Act further provides that no person shall transmit or re-transmit
through a cable service any programme unless such programme is in conformity with the
prescribed programme code and prescribed advertisement code. It has been made mandatory for
every cable operator re-transmit at least two Doordarshan terrestrial channels and one regional
language channel of a State in the prime band, in satellite mode on frequencies other than those
carrying terrestrial frequencies.
LAW RELATING TO OBJECTIONABLE ADVERTISEMENTS OF DRUG AND MAGIC REMEDIES The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 was legislated to
control the advertisement of drugs in certain cases, to prohibit the advertisement for certain
purposes of remedies alleged to possess magic qualities and to provide for matters connected
therewith. According to the provisions of the Act, ‘advertisement’ includes any notice, circular,
label, wrapper, or other document, and any announcement made orally or by any means of
producing or transmitting light, sound or smoke. ‘Magic remedy’ includes a talisman, mantra,
kavacha, and any other charm of any kind which is alleged to possess miraculous powers for or
in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of any disease in human beings or
animals or for affecting or influencing in any way the structure or any organic function of the
body of human beings or animals. The Act prohibits advertisement of certain drugs for treatment
of certain diseases and disorders specified in the Act. The Act also prohibits misleading
advertisements relating to drugs.
LAW RELATING TO DELIVERY OF BOOKS AND NEWSPAPERS TO PUBLIC LIBRARIES The Delivery of Books 'and Newspapers' (Public Libraries) Act, 1954 has been enacted to
regulate delivery of Books to the National Library, Calcutta, and other public libraries. The Act
provides that subject to any rules that may be made under this Act, but without prejudice to the
provisions contained in Section 9 of the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867, the publisher
of every book published in the territories to which this Act extends after the commencement of
this Act shall, despite any agreement to the contrary, deliver at his own expense a copy of the
book to the National Library at Calcutta and one such copy to each of the other three public
libraries within thirty days from the date of its publication. Regarding the delivery of newspapers
to public libraries, the Act provides that subject to any rules that may be made under this Act, but
without prejudice to the provisions contained in the Press and Registration of Books Act,1867,
the publisher of every newspaper, published in the territories to which this Act extends, shall
deliver at his own expense one copy of each issue of such newspaper as soon as it is published,
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to each such public library as may be notified in this behalf by the Central Government in the
Official Gazette.
THE PRESS COUNCIL OF INDIA'S NORMS OF JOURNALISTIC CONDUCT There should be a code of conduct for every profession to ensure its progress along with social
accountability. The Press council of India has set a code of journalistic norms with an objective
to build up a code of conduct for newspapers, news agencies and journalists in accordance with
high professional standards and on the basis of its adjudications of various cases. The code of
journalistic norms have been set to ensure the maintenance of high standards of public taste on
the part newspapers, news agencies and journalists and to develop a due sense of the rights and
responsibilities of citizenship and public service among all those engaged in the profession of
journalism
LAW RELATING TO OFFICIAL SECRETS The Official Secrets Act, 1923 has been enacted to consolidate and amend the law relating to
official secrets in India. The Indian Official Secrets Act, 1889 was the first law relating to
official secrets. It was amended by the Indian Official Secrets (Amendment) Act, 1904 and later,
the Official Secrets Act, 1911, a British Act was brought into force in India. Subsequently, it was
felt desirable that there should be a single consolidated Act applicable to Indian conditions. Thus,
the Official Secrets Act, 1923 was passed. The Act bars all the government servants from
passing on the information to any other person.
CONDITIONS OF SERVICE OF THE WORKING JOURNALISTS AND OTHER NEWSPAPER EMPLOYEES The law governing the conditions of service of the Working Journalists and other Newspaper
Employees is the Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service
and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1955. The Act provides for regulation of certain conditions
of service of working journalists and other persons employed in newspaper establishments.
According to the provisions of this Act, ‘working journalist’ is a person whose principal
avocation is that of a journalist and who is employed either whole time in one or more
newspaper establishments and includes an editor, a leader-writer, news-editor, sub-editor, feature
writer, copy tester, reporter, correspondent, cartoonist, news photographer, and proof reader and
‘newspaper’ means any printed periodical work containing public news or comments on public
news. The Act lays down that for the purpose of fixing or revising rates of wages in respect of
working journalists, the Central Government as and when necessary shall constitute a Wage
Board.
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CINE WORKER’S WELFARE CESS The Cine Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1981 provides for the levy and collection of a cess on
feature films for the financing of activities to promote the welfare of certain cine workers and for
matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Regarding levy and collection of cess on
feature films the Act provides that there shall be levied and collected as a cess, for the purposes
of the Cine-workers Welfare Fund Act, 1981, a duty of excise at such rate, not being less than
one thousand rupees and not exceeding twenty thousand rupees on every feature film, as the
Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify from time to time. The
Act further provides that the duty of excise levied shall be in addition to any cess or duty leviable
on cinematograph films under any other law for time being in force.
CINE WORKERS WELFARE FUND The Cine Workers Welfare Fund has been established under the provisions of the Cine Workers
Welfare Fund Act 1981. This Act was legislated with an aim to provide for the financing of
activities to promote the welfare of certain cine-workers. Under the Act, ‘cine-worker’ has been
defined as an individual who has been employed, directly or through any contractor or in any
other manner, in or in connection with the production of not less than five feature films to work
as an artiste (including actor, musician or dancer) or to do any work, skilled, unskilled, manual,
supervisory, technical, artistic or otherwise; and whose remuneration with respect to such
employment in or in connection with the production of each of nay five feature films, has not
exceeded, where such remuneration has been by way of monthly wages, a sum of one thousand
rupees per month, and where such remuneration has been by way of a lump sum, a sum of five
thousand rupees. The Act provides for the constitution of Advisory Committees and a Central
Advisory Committee to advice the Central Government on any matter arising out of the
administration of this Act.
LAWS RELATING TO THE PRESS 1. CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
(i) Art. 19(1)(a) read with Art. 19(2) (Freedom of speech and expression)
(ii) Art. 361-A (Protection of publication of proceedings of Parliament and State Legislature)
2. PRESS LAWS/ACTS
(i) Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986
(ii) Punjab Special Powers (Press) Act, 1956.
(iii) The Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867
(iv) The Dramatic Performances Act, 187619
(v) The Indian Telegraph Act, 1898
(vi) The (Indian) Post Office Act,1898
(vii) The Police (Incitement of Disaffection) Act, 1922
(viii) Official Secrets Act, 1923 (Act No. 1923)
(ix) The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950
(x) Representation of the People Act, 1951
(xi) The Delivery of Books and Newspapers (Public Libraries)Act, 1954
(xii) The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 (No.
21 of 1954)
(xiii) The Working Journalists and Other Newspaper Employees(Conditions of Service)
and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955
(xiv) The Prize Competitions Act, 1955 (Act No. 42 of 1955)
(xv) Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
(xvi) The Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act, 1956
(xvii) The Copyright Act, 1957.
(xviii) Children Act, 1960
(xix) Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1961 as amended in 1990.
(xx) Atomic Energy Act, 1962
(xxi) Customs Act, 1962
(xxii) The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967
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(xxiii) The Civil Defence Act, 1968
(xxiv) The Contempt of Courts Act,1971
(xxv) The Press Council Act, 1978
(xxvi) The Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978
(xxvii) National Security Act, 1980
(xxviii) Right to Information Act,2003
3. RELEVANT PROVISIONS OF INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860(i) Sec. 124-Assaulting President, Governor etc. with intent to compel or restrain the
exercise of any lawful power.
(ii) Sec. 153A-Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion,
race, place of birth, residence, language etc. and doing acts prejudicial to
maintenance of harmony.
(iii) Sec. 153B-Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration.
(iv) Sec. 171G-False statement in connection with an election.
(v) Sec.228-Intentional insult or interruption to public servant sitting in judicial
proceeding.
(vi) 228(a) Disclosure of identity of the victim of offences, u/s 376, 376-A, 376-B,
376-C or 376-D.
(vii) Sec. 292 Sale etc. of obscene books etc.
(viii) g) Sec 293 Sale etc. of obscene objects to young person.
(ix) Sec. 294A-Keeping lottery office.
(x) Sec. 295A-Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of
any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.
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(xi) Sec. 299 Culpable homicide.
(xii) Sec. 499 Defamation.- Sec. 500 Punishment for Defamation.
(xiii) Sec. 501 Printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory matter.
(xiv) Sec. 502 Sale of printed or engraved substance containing defamatory
substance.
(xv) Sec.505:-
a) Statements conducive to public mischief.b) Statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between
classes.c) Offence under sub-section (2) committed in place of worship.
4. RELEVANT PROVISIONS OF CR. P.C., 1973 (ACT NO. LI OF 1974)(i) Sec. 91 -Power to take bond for appearance.
(ii) Sec. 93 -Summons and warrants of arrest.
(iii) Sec. 95 -Procedure as to letters and telegraphs.
(iv) Sec. 96 -When search warrants may be issued.
(v) Sec. 108 Security for good behaviour from persons disseminating seditious
matters.
(vi) Sec. 144 Power to issue orders absolute at once in urgent cases of nuisance or
apprehended danger
(vii) Sec. 177 to 187 Place of inquiry or trial.
(viii) Section 195 Prosecution for contempt of lawful authority of servants.
(ix) Sec. 199 prosecution for adultery or enticing a married women.
(x) Sec. 327 Power to summon another set of jurors.
(xi) Sec. 340 Right of person against whom proceedings are instituted to be defended
and his competency to be a witness.
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