Media Laws

&
Ethics
Course BJMC 106
Lecture-2

Ratan Mani Lal

 Regulatory mechanisms
 The first mechanism available for
providing relief and redress to those
who have been aggrieved by the
media is the Press Council of India.
 The history

 The Press Councils are the offshoots

of the twentieth century Press

 The Councils were set up in Britain in

1953 on a voluntary basis and in
India in 1966 by a statute with a
view to checking press abuses
Cherished goal
 During British rule in
India, press freedom
was one of the
cherished goals of
the freedom fighters
 After independence

when the
Constitution of India
was being written its
framers did not pay
attention to press
freedom
Constitutional guarantee
 The Indian Constitution
guarantees the
fundamental right of
freedom of speech and
expression to every
citizen as per Article
19(1)(a) of the
Constitution, subject to
certain reasonable
restrictions specified in
Article 19(2)
 Court’s discretion
 The High Courts and Supreme Court
are empowered to interpret these
articles and declare the law,
whenever a case comes to them.

 There is no specific right of press

freedom, but the Supreme Court of
India has indicated that freedom of
speech and expression includes such
a freedom.
Rights of Press

 The Supreme
Court does not
see the right
of the Press as
going beyond
those of the
ordinary
citizen.
 Press Commission
 Justice G.S. Rajyadhyaksha headed
the First Press Commission of India
instituted by the Nehru Government
in 1952

 Its objective was to inquire into the

state of the Indian Press
 Recommendations

 The main recommendation of the

first Press Commission was that a
statutory Press Council should be
established in India.

 After two years of recommendations

by the Commission, a bill for setting
up a Press Council was introduced in
the Rajya Sabha in 1956
 Statutory body
 The history of the Press Council
of India shows that many times
it has been the subject of legal
actions.

 When the Council was formed

for the first time, its
composition was challenged in a
court of law
 Setting up PCI
 When the Press Council of India Act,
1965 was enacted the first chairman
of the Press Council of India was J.R.
Mudholkar, a sitting judge of the
Supreme Court

 The Act was repealed in 1975 during

the emergency and a fresh one was
framed in 1978 which is still
operating.
 During emergency
 During this period newspapers were
the major target of the then prime
minister Indira Gandhi

 On 8 December 1975, the President

issued an ordinance stating the Press
Council was to be abolished on the
expiry of its term on 31 December
1975. Later in February 1976 the
Press Council Act was repealed
 Restored

When the internal emergency was

ended in 1977 and Indira Gandhi
lost power in the general
elections, the new government of
Prime Minister Morarji Desai
introduced fresh legislation for
establishing a Press Council
 Salient features
 It is empowered to take up
complaints against individual
journalists, including freelance
journalists, about advertisements.

 It also adjudicates complaints

against the government in order to
fulfill its obligation given in the
latter part of the above objective.
 No monitoring

The Council has no monitoring

system for ensuring that its
directions to erring newspapers
are duly implemented by them
within a reasonable time.
 Nature of complaints
 The complaints entertained by the
Press Council are of two general
nature:

Complaints against the Press

Complaints regarding oppression

to Press freedom
 Against the press
 It is open to any person to lodge a
complaint with the Press Council
against a newspaper for a breach of
the recognized ethical canons of
journalistic propriety and taste.
 Conditions

 The complainant should initially

write to the editor of the
newspaper drawing attention to
the complaint

 The Council cannot deal with any

matter which is sub-judice in the
law court
Oppression of press freedom

A newspaper, a journalist or
any institution or individual
can complain against
Central or State Government
or any organization or
person for interference with
free functioning of the press
 Laws concerning press
 Mass Media laws in India have a long
history and are deeply rooted in the
country’s colonial experience under
British rule
 Chronological order…

 On 18th June 1857, the

government passed a regulating
act for the press

 ‘Press and Registration of Books

Act’ enacted in 1867 and
continues to remain in force till
date
 Laws…
 ‘Vernacular Press Act’ promulgated in
1878
 Other laws
 The Press (Objectionable Matters)
Act, 1951 provides against the
printing and publication of incitement
to crime & other objectionable stuff

 The Newspaper (Prices and Pages)

Act, 1956 empowers the Central
Government to regulate the price of
newspapers in relation to the number
of pages.
 Other laws…
 Defence of India Act, 1962 came
into force during the Emergency
proclaimed in 1962

 The Working Journalists and other

Newspaper Employees (Conditions
of Service and Miscellaneous
Provisions) Act, 1955
 Contempt laws
 Contempt of Courts Act, 1971

 Contempt of court means civil

contempt or criminal contempt;
and while civil contempt means
wilful disobedience to any
judgment, decree, direction, order,
writ or other process of a court or
wilful breach of an undertaking
given to a court
Parliamentary proceedings
 The Parliamentary Proceedings
(Protection of Publication) Act,
1977

 Under this Act no person shall be

liable to any proceedings in any
court in respect of the publication
in a newspaper of a substantially
true report of any proceedings of
either House of Parliament
Official Secrets Act
 Official Secrets Act,
1923
 Enacted on April 2,

1923, fairly wide and

comprehensive piece
of legislation which, if
enforced as per letter
and spirit, could make
every publishing
activity guilty of some
offence or the other.
 Comprehensive law
 The Act gives wide powers to the
enforcing agencies to book
anyone who they think is acting
suspiciously or may cause harm
to the security establishment

 Demands for its abolition or

amendment have been made
from several quarters.
 Many more
 Besides, there are many laws
that control various aspects of
the media

 These include those controlling

the newsprint, government
advertisements, working
conditions of newspaper
employees and so on.
 Conclusion

The subject of monitoring the

activities of the press has always
commanded great attention of
the government before and after
independenc
Thank you