Some Important Media Regulation Laws in India

Posted by Eva taylor on March 13th, 2020

In India, we follow the system of Parliamentary democracy and the Press is considered to be free. This freedom comes subject to restrictions imposed by the Constitution of India, 1950. These are reasonable restrictions and restrict the freedom of the press under certain conditions and situations. Before globalization's impact started being felt, the government used to control the mass media which allowed media to project only those news or things that the government wanted the public to see. With privatization and globalization pervading the world with its impacts, the scenario underwent a humongous change. Here, we share information on some of the major Media Regulation Laws in India. 

The Newspaper (Prices and Pages) Act, 1956

According to this Act, the Central Government has been empowered to regulate newspaper prices in relation to its size and number of pages. The government also regulates space allocation allowed to each newspaper for advertising matter. 

Defense of India Act, 1962

This Act came into force in the year 1962 during the proclamation of the Emergency. The aim of this Act was to restrict the freedom of the press to a substantial extent in lieu of unrest in the country with India at war with China. The Act empowered the Central Government to issue rules prohibiting communication or publication that was prejudicial to the military and civil operations. It prohibited publication and printing of prejudicial reports in the newspaper. 

Delivery of Books and Newspapers (Public Libraries) Act, 1954

This Act regulated newspaper and book publishers who were required to provide a copy of every published book free of cost to the National Library located in Calcutta. They were also required to send one copy each to Central Government specified three other public libraries. 

The Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1955

This Act set down minimum service condition standards for journalists and newspaper employees. 

Civil Defence Act, 1968 

This Act permitted the Government to make rules prohibiting the publication and printing of any newspaper, book, or other documents that were prejudicial to the Civil Defence. 

Press Council Act, 1978

This Act paved way for the Reconstitution of the Press Council after 1976 to maintain and improve the standard of news agencies and newspapers in India. 

It is interesting to note that on one hand, the Indian Constitution gives Freedom of the Press as a fundamental right, and at the same time, places some restrictions as per Article 105 (2) on the publications of Parliament proceedings. 

In this time and age when media is all-pervasive and a lot of platforms have added to the traditional news and media agencies, the boundaries of traditional media have all but blurred. The dimensions of the world of media have expanded and have encompassed other areas lie cyber media and more. As a result, the number of laws governing these diverse areas has also increased. Thus, media regulation laws in India are expanding and governing many more areas affecting various media communication branches. This is the basic framework of laws related to media in India.