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MEDIA LAWS OF INDIA
CA Rajkumar S. Adukia
B. Com. (Hons.), FCA, ACS, AICWA, LL.B, Dip.IFR (UK), MBA, DIPR, DLL&LP
Mobile +91 98200 61049/+91 93230 61049
Fax +91 22 26765579
Email rajkumarfca@gmail.com
www.caaa.in
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Media , press ethics and law, Exams of Media Laws and Ethics
Its all law relating to media and press in India.
Typology: Exams
2017/2018
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MEDIA LAWS OF INDIA
CA Rajkumar S. Adukia
B. Com. (Hons.), FCA, ACS, AICWA, LL.B, Dip.IFR (UK), MBA, DIPR, DLL&LP
Mobile +91 98200 61049/+91 93230 61049 Fax +91 22 26765579 Email rajkumarfca@gmail.com www.caaa.in
Index
**1. Introduction
- Media Industry
- History of Media Laws in India
- Media laws of India – an overview
- Laws applicable for Information
- Laws applicable for Broadcasting
- Laws applicable for Films
- Other laws applicable to media** 8.1. FDI in media sector 8.2. Labour related legislations 8.3. IPR **8.4. Telegraph Act & Wireless Telegraphy Act
- Authorities regulating the media industry
- Case laws
- Professional opportunities in the media industry
- Useful websites
- About the Author**
- Corporate law
- Defamation
- Entertainment
- Freedom of information
- Internet
- Information technology
- Privacy
- Telecommunications
2. MEDIA INDUSTRY
According to a recent news, Indian Media & Entertainment Industry is to touch Rs.1,457 billion by 2016.
In 2011, the Indian Media & Entertainment (M&E) Industry registered a growth of 12 percent over 2010, to reach INR 728 billon. The growth trajectory is backed by strong consumption in Tier 2 and 3 cities, continued growth of regional media, and fast increasing new media business. Overall, the industry is expected to register a CAGR of 15% to touch INR 1,457 billion by 2016.
While television continues to be the dominant medium, sectors such as animation & VFX, digital advertising, and gaming are fast increasing their share in the overall pie. Radio is expected to display a healthy growth rate after the advent of Phase 3. Print, while witnessing a decline in growth rate, will continue to be the second largest medium in the Indian M&E industry. Also, the film industry had a reason to cheer, with multiple movies crossing the INR 100 crore mark in domestic theatrical collections, and INR 30 crore mark in C&S rights.
Advertising spends across all media accounted for INR 300 billion in 2011, contributing to 41 percent of the overall M&E industry’s revenues. Advertising revenues witnessed a growth of 13 percent in 2011, as against 17 percent observed in 2010.
In terms of performance, 2011 proved to be a year with mixed results in terms of growth across different sub sectors. The traditional media businesses experienced a slow down compared to last year, especially in the second half of the year. However, the new media segments like Animation and VFX, Online and Gaming businesses witnessed phenomenal growth rates.
The media industry in 2011 in a nutshell –
- Print : The print industry grew by 8.3 percent from INR 193 billion in 2010 to INR 209 billion in 2011. The growth was slightly lower than the expectation of
3. HISTORY OF MEDIA LAWS IN INDIA
When Europeans write on the history of the media, they refer to the Acta diurna of the Roman Empire as closely akin to the newspaper of today. In India the Rock Edicts of Emperor Ashok (c.273-236 BC) engraved on the rocks contain in abundance measures adopted and regulations issued by him. This is not very different from the news content of modern media. In that era when Ashok, the Great, used this technology for communicating his message throughout his vast empire, there is no reference to restrictions on communication imposed by law. However, the Arthashastra written originally in the reign of Chandragupta Maurya (c. 324-300 BC) by Kautilya mentions punishment for spreading false rumours. The Arthashastra and the Rock Edicts also speak of spies and reporters.
Akhbar is the word used for newspapers today in Hindi and Urdu languages and Babur mentions it in such a way as if it is something routine. It was meant to communicate an official announcement by Babur that a tax would be waived on all Muslims if he won the battle and he himself had given up drinking and banned liquor in his dominions. However, there is no reference to any regulation on akhbar. The earliest mention of pre-typographic newspapers is to be found in a contemporary historical work (Muntakhals-ul-Lubab by Khafi Khan) of the later Mughul times. Colonel James Tod (1782-1835) sent hundreds of original manuscript newspapers of the court of Aurangzeb, sixth of the Great Mughuls to the Royal Asiatic Society in London. The size of these seventeenth-century papers, written in different hands, was 8 inches by 4½ inches. These were considerably free and could report even personal affairs of the emperor. There is no record of any law governing these newspapers. Perhaps, there was neither pre-censorship nor licensing, both being Western institutions.
It was sheer accident, however, that brought printing press to India on 6th^ September
- Granting a request from Emperor of Abyssinia, the King of Portugal dispatched in 1556 a printing press and technicians via the Cape route. But the patriarch accompanying the press halted en route at Goa from where his onward journey to Abyssinia was first delayed and later abandoned. He died on 22nd^ December 1562. The
press, intended for missionary work in Abyssinia never left Goa, instead, it printed literature for Abyssinia from Goa.
However, there was no press regulation until the British East India Company started ruling a part of India after the Battle of Plassey in 1757. William Bolts, an ex- employee of the British East India Company attempted to start the first newspaper in India in 1766 but was deported. Later a collection of papers on the affairs of India “particularly respecting the state of Bengal and its dependencies” was published in 1773 by J. Almon, London as “Considerations on Indian Affairs” in two volumes with maps and survey reports. In this publication he has been identified as former Judge of the Mayor’s Court of Calcutta.
When newspapers in India were published by only Europeans expulsion of the editor (printer) was ultimate penalty. The Supreme Court of Judicature upheld this power. Every foreigner was required to obtain a licence for his residence in the territories of the Company and if any one incurred the displeasure of the officials by writing or publishing something which was not palatable to them, the licence was cancelled. It appears that growing importance of the Fourth Estate in England and the desire of missionaries to start newspapers in India ultimately led to abolition of pre-censorship in 1818 by Lord Hastings as missionaries of Serampore started the first Indian language journal Samachar Darpan on 23rd^ May 1818. It became bilingual carrying news in Bengali and English in parallel columns in 1829.
Like censorship, licensing was also a European institution to control the press. It was introduced in Bengal in 1823 through Adam’s regulations. The East India Company also issued instruction that no servant of the company should have any connection with a newspaper. This decision was the result of an incident in Bombay (now Mumbai) where a member of the Council of the Governor owned a newspaper. Licensing regulations were replaced by Metcalfe’ Act which was applicable to entire territory of the East India Company and required that the printer and publisher of every newspaper declare the location of the premises of its publication.
whether any engagements of officers with the press were consistent with the discharge of their duties to the government, the decision to that effect would lie with the government.
For the purpose of ascertaining the character of any intended public dramatic performance the Dramatic Performances Act (19 of 1876) was passed as it was suspected that such performances may provoke people against the Government.
When the Indian language press became very bold the Vernacular Press Act 1878 was introduced. It was comprehensive and rigorous, aimed at “better control” of the language press. It empowered any magistrate of a district or a commissioner of police in a presidency town to call upon the printer and publisher of a newspaper to enter into a bond undertaking not to publish certain kind of material, to demand security, and to forfeit, if it was thought fit, such presses and confiscate any printed matter as it deemed objectionable. No printer or publisher against whom such action had been taken could have recourse to a court of law. It was particularly meant to crush Amrit Bazar Patrika, which was bilingual before this Act. But the smart owner foiled this attempt by turning it into an English language paper overnight. The main role in persuading Lord Lytton for the Vernacular Press Act was played by Sir Ashley Eden (1831-1887), the then Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. He was in a fit to crush the Amrita Bazar Patrika. Sir Ashley called the editor of the Amrita Bazar Patrika, Babu Shishir Kumar, and offered: “Let us three, I, you and Kristo Das, govern the province. Kriso Das has agreed to conduct his paper according to my direction... You will have to do the same thing. I shall contribute to your paper as I do to the Hindoo Patriot. And when you write an article criticizing the government you will have to submit the manuscript to me before publication. In return the government will subscribe to a considerable number of your paper and I shall consult you as I consult Kristo Das in carrying on the administration of province.” Babu Shishir Kumar thanked him and quietly remarked, “Your Honor, there ought to be at least one honest journalist in the land”. Sir Ashley himself remarked, “If there had been only one week’s delay on the part of the proprietors to convert the Patrika into English we would have dealt a
deadly blow at it by demanding a heavy bail-bond from them.” When Gladstone who had criticized the Vernacular Press Act, became the prime minister and Lord Ripon the governor-general, and even before the retirement of Sir Ashley Eden the repeal of Vernacular Press Act had become a foregone conclusion. The repealing bill was passed without discussion, on December 7, 1881.
In India telegraph was introduced in 1851 and was very useful to East India Company during 1857. However, the Indian Telegraph Act was passed in 1885. The Government had exclusive privilege under this Act in respect of telegraph and power to grant licenses. The definition of telegraph in this Act is very wide as it later covered all other means of communication depending on electromagnetic waves, thus including teleprinter, telephone, fax, radio and television. It provides for interception of messages and takeover of licensed establishments by the Government in any public emergency or in the interest of public safety.
Section 19 of the Sea Customs Act 1878 gave power to the central government of prohibit or restrict the importation or exportation of goods into or out of India. Section 5 of the Telegraph Act 1885 gave power to the central government or provincial governments of an official specially authorized by the government to take possession of licensed telegraphs and to order interception of telegraphic messages which include as per section 3(1) of the Act telephone messages also. Section 25 of the Indian Post Office Act 1898 confers power on an officer of the post office to intercept during transmission by post goods which have been notified under section 19 of the Sea Customs Act or the import or export of which is otherwise prohibited. Section 26 of the Post Office Act provides power of interception of postal articles on the same lines as section 5 of the Telegraph Act. Thus by the turn of the century the government had wide ranging powers to intercept anything anywhere along all the possible channels.
With Swadeshi Movement and partition of Bengal the opposition of the Government reached its zenith, both in the press and the public. In June 1908 the government passed the Newspaper (Incitement to Offences) Act, which gave power to local
section 67B of the Government of India Act 1919, certified the Bill which became the Indian States (Proection against Disaffection) Act 1922. This Act provided punishment of imprisonment up to 5 years for any person editing, printing or publishing any document which brings into hatred or contempt or excites disaffection towards any prince or chief of a state in India, or the government or administration established in any such state. For material of this nature, the powers of forfeiture under sections 99-A to 99-C of the Criminal Procedure Code and of postal interception under sections 27-B to 27-D of the Indian Post Offices Act were made applicable.
In 1923 the Official Secrets Act was passed in order to update and consolidate the existing provisions of Indian Official Secrets Act of 1889, along the lines of the British Acts of 1911 and 1920. The earlier Act was repealed. Section 5 of this Act, which affects the Press deals with “official secrets” and relates to “wrongful communication of information.”
To meet the situation posed by the civil disobedience movement of 1930, the government promulgated the Indian Press Ordinance to provide for “better control of the press”. This revived the stringent provisions of the repealed Press Act of 1910. Some 130 newspapers had to deposit securities, nine refused to do so and suspended publications. In 1931, the Indian Press (Emergency Powers) Act was passed.
In 1932 the Foreign Relations Act was passed with the object of providing against the publication of statements likely to prejudice the maintenance of friendly relations between the British government and the governments of certain foreign states. The powers of forfeiture under sections 99A-99G of the Criminal Procedure Code and the postal interception under sections 27B-27D of the Indian Post Offices Act were extended by section 3 of this Act to documents containing matter defamatory of such ruler or his consort of son or principal minister of a state outside but adjoining India.
Indian States (Protection) Act was passed in 1934 to protect the administrations of states in India, which were under the suzerainty of the British crown from activities, which tended to subvert or excite disaffection towards or to obstruct such
administration. Section 3 of this Act extended to Press Emergency Act Powers 1931 to protect these states.
Before Independence, the Interim Government appointed the Press Laws Enquiry Committee in March 1947 to examine the press laws. The Committee gave its report on 22 May 1948 after Independence and partition of India. After the report of this committee the Act of 1931 was replaced by Press (Objectionable Matter) Act 1951. However, the mood was so much for freedom of press that it was allowed to lapse in February 1956 and was repealed in 1957. The Indian Constitution gives every citizen fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression and the courts have interpreted that it includes freedom of the press.
Major setback to the freedom of press in India was when Emergency was imposed in June 1975 and censorship was introduced. However, after the defeat of the then ruling party in 1977 General Elections it has not been possible for anybody to follow the example. Press Council advised the Government not to put curbs on the press even in disturbed areas like Jammu and Kashmir. This policy appears to be better than the curbs on the press by Government.
Liberal ethos reinforced after 1977 has affected broadcasting as well. While demand for autonomous corporation to control All India Radio and Doordarshan was accepted and finally Prasar Bharti, an autonomous corporation came into existence from 15 September 1997 after the notification of the Prasar Bharti Act. It has not been possible to come up with a regulator for broadcasting content despite several bills that came to Parliament over the years and private satellite and cable channels are having a field day enjoying more freedom than in any other part of the world.
Though the Government has not allowed news on private radio outfits yet, freedom of print and television channels make India one of the most liberal countries in the world as far as the freedom of media goes. Right to Information Act 2005 has been implemented and this has further extended freedom of media in India.
List of Acts and Rules applicable to the media industry -
- The Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867
- Registration of Newspapers (Central) Rules, 1956
- The Press and Registration Appellate Board (Practice and Procedure) Order, 1961
- The Press Council Act, 1978
- The Press Council Rules, 1979
- The Press Council (Procedure for Nomination of Members) Rules, 1978
- The Press Council (Procedure for Inquiry) (Amendment) Regulations, 2006
- The Press Council (Procedure for Conduct of Meetings and Business) Regulations, 1979
- The Press Council of India (Grant of Certified Copies) Regulations, 1999
- The Working Journalists and Other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955
- The Working Journalists (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Rules, 1957
- The Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees Tribunal Rules, 1979
- The Working Journalists (Fixation of Rates of Wages) Act, 1958
- The Newspaper (Prices and Pages) Act, 1956
- The Delivery of Books and Newspapers (Public Libraries) Act, 1954
- The Right to Information Act, 2005
- The Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2005
- The Central Information Commission (Appeal Procedure) Rules, 2005
- The Central Information Commission (Management) Regulations, 2007
- The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954
- The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Rules, 1955
- The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950
- The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Rules, 1982
- State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act, 2005
- State Emblem of India (Regulation of Use) Rules, 2007
- The Parliamentary Proceedings (Protection of Publication) Act, 1977
- The Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act, 1956
- The Punjab Special Powers (Press) Act, 1956 (Relevant Provisions)
- Copyright Act, 1957
- The Dramatic Performances Act, 1876 (Relevant Provisions)
- The Cinematograph Act, 1952
- The Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983
- The Cine-workers and Cinema Theatre Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act, 1981
- The Cine-Workers and Cinema Theatre Workers (Regulation of Employment) Rules, 1984
- The Cine-Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1981
- The Cine-workers Welfare Cess Rules, 1984
- The Cine-Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1981
- The Cine-Workers Welfare Fund Rules, 1984
- The Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India ) Act, 1990
- The Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act, 2007
- The Sports Broadcast Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Rules, 2007
- The Common Charter of Telecom Services, 2005
- The Regulation on Quality of Service of Basic and Cellular Mobile Telephone Services, 2005
- Quality of Service (Code of Practice for Metering and Billing Accuracy) Regulation, 2006
- The Standards of Quality of Service (Broadcasting and Cable Services) (Cable Television – CAS Areas) Regulation, 2006
- The Quality of Service of Broadband Service Regulations, 2006
- The Telecom Consumers Protection and Redressal of Grievances Regulations, 2007
- The Telecom Unsolicited Commercial Communications Regulations, 2007
- The International Telecommunication Access to Essential Facilities at Cable Landing Stations Regulations, 2007
- The Telecommunication Consumers Education and Protection Fund Regulations, 2007
- The Direct to Home Broadcasting Services (Standards of Quality of Service and Redressal of Grievances) Regulations, 2007
- Domestic Leased Circuits Regulations, 2007
- The Register of Interconnect Agreements Regulations, 1999
- The Indian Post Office Act, 1898 (Relevant Provisions)
- The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Relevant Provisions)
- The Information Technology (Certifying Authorities) Rules, 2000
5. LAWS APPLICABLE FOR INFORMATION
The list of legislations applicable for Information – i. Press & Registration of Books Act 1867 ii. Delivery of Books 'and Newspapers' (Public Libraries) Act, 1954 iii. Delivery of Books (Public Libraries) Rules, 1955 iv. Registration of Newspapers (Central) Rules 1956 v. The Newspaper (Prices and Pages) Act, 1956 vi. The Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act, 1956 vii. The Press and Registration Appellate Board (Practice and Procedure) Order, 1961 viii. The Parliamentary Proceedings (Protection of Publication) Act, 1977 ix. Press Council Act, 1978 x. The Press Council (Procedure for Nomination of Members) Rules, 1978 xi. The Press Council Rules, 1979 xii. The Press Council (Procedure for Conduct of Meetings and Business) Regulations, 1979 xiii. The Press Council of India (Grant of Certified Copies) Regulations, 1999 xiv. Press Council (Procedure for Inquiry) (Amendment) Regulations, 2006 The following guidelines and policies are applicable for Information –
- Central Newsmedia Acredition Guidelines, 1999
- Guidelines for publication of Indian editions of foreign magazines dealing with news and current affairs