UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM & ENERGY STUDIES

COLLEGE OF LEGAL STUDIES

BA., LL.B(HONS.)CRIMINAL LAWS

SEMESTER-I

ACADEMIC YEAR: 2016-17

SESSION: JULY-DECEMBER

SEMINAR PAPER

FOR

LEGAL RESEARCH

(LLBG102)

ON THE TOPIC

“Freedom of Press: A critical Analysis”

Under the Supervision of Ms. Eira Mishra

Name: Priyansh Kohli

SAP ID: 500055204

ROLL NO & BATCH: R154216081 BATCH 2

 INDEX

TOPICS Page

Introduction

Development of press in India

Advantages of freedom of press

Disadvantages of freedom of press

Significance of freedom of press

Freedom of press: A critical Analysis
Introduction

The press has to serve the entire community of varying minds with its raw material hence is the
greatest social asset and also to act as a watch dog by exercising its role to warn and curb forces
of repression, corruption and divisiveness. Any of the freedom is not above the Freedom of press
and this freedom can be used to create a brave new world or to bring about universal catastrophe.

Press freedom can be weighed from two sides.

1. The external and internal pressures such as interference by political and business leaders,
pressure from advertisers, physical attacks on the press people, and so on.

2. Various media laws, such as the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, The
Copy Right Act, 1957, impose restrictions on the exercise of the right of freedom of speech and
expression by the press.

Article 19(1) of the Indian Constitution contains Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression. As
the scope of this article is wide Freedom of press is a part or we can say that is included in
Freedom of Speech and Expression. There is no restraint on publication and includes right of free
propagation and free circulation. Since every possible use of language will give rise to disorder
and anarchy freedom of speech and expression does not give any such right.

Whenever, emergency is declared rights such as security of the state, friendly relations with
foreign states, public order, and decency of morality or in relation to contempt of court,
defamation or incitement to an offense remain suspended.

Press freedom is linked with social and fundamental responsibilities by all the governments.
External analysts assess the 199 countries and territories, using a combination of on-the-ground
research, consultations with local contacts, and information from news articles, nongovernmental
organizations, governments, and a variety of other sources. Expert advisers and regional
specialists then evaluate the analysts’ conclusions. The final product represents the discretion of
the analysts, advisers, and Freedom House staff.1

Who funds the freedom of press?

Freedom of the Press receives no governmental funding. Generous support comes from a range
of private foundations and individual donors, including the Jyllands-Posten Foundation, the
Hurford Foundation, the Lilly Endowment, the Stichting Democratie en Media, Free Press
Unlimited, the Fritt Ord Foundation, the Reed Foundation, Kim G. Davis, Bette Bao Lord, and
Ambassador Victor Ashe.2

Freedom House is solely responsible for the content of this report.

1
How is freedom of the press produced
2
About Freedom of the press, www.freedomhouse.org 01/11/2016
Development of Press in India

As per our discussion press is already regarded as one of the pillars of any democracy as it acts
as a watchdog of the three organs of democracy. Freedom of speech is enjoyed by every citizen
but there are many instances where the press has to face difficulties as well. Tehelka case is the
best example of the difficulties the press has to face in this case the portal Tehelka.com was
forced to shut down completely and its journalists were continuously harassed as the journalists
exposed the ‘scam’ in the defence ministry involving ExDefence Personnel and Government
Ministers.

With all the difficulties press has witnessed a lot of success in its recent past. The development,
the power which the media has gained in the recent past can be seen through Jessica Lal case. In
Jessica Lal’s case, Manu Sharma the son of a Haryana minister, killed Jessica on April 29, 1999
as she refused to serve him liquor in the restaurant where she was working. Because of lack of
evidences this case was closed and all the accused were freed. With the media outcry this case
was reopened, which led to Sharma’s conviction.

Media has played a significant role in Priyadarshini Mattoo’s case. In this case Santosh Kumar,
son of an IPS officer had raped and killed his colleague, Priyadarshini Mattoo, a law student in
1996 as she had refused his proposal. The Delhi High Court rebuked lower courts and authority
under investigation for acquittal of accused. After a long run trial in October 2006 aged father of
Priyadarshini got judgement. By highlighting the loopholes in Aarushi Talwar’s case in which
Aarushi’s father was the main suspect media has played important part.

Operaton Duryodhana was carried out by news channel Aaj-Tak in the year 2005 which revealed
11 MP’s of the Lok Sabha accepting cash for asking question in the Lok Sabha. Senior Congress
MP Pawan Kumar Bansal headed investigation committee was set up in which all fthe 11 MP’s
were found guilty and were sacked from Lok Sabha.

These many cases which are mentioned above show or give the brief about the development of
Press in India, how over the period of time the press has overcome the difficulties whether it is
political, economical or social.3

3
Freedom of Media in India, www.legal%20.com 01/11/2016
Advantages of Freedom of Press

1) Press Freedom and Governance

Now a day’s ensuring the freedom for media around the world is priority and
responsibility of the government of different nations. For good governance in
democracies Independent, free and pluralistic media is a necessity. Free media has many
benefits such as:
a) it can ensure accountability, transparency and the rule of law
b) Enhances participation in public and political discourse
c) Has a major contribution in the fight against poverty.
The main source of power for an independent media sector is the community it serves
and in return it provide enough power to that community to be a full partner in the
democratic process. For an open and informed debate Freedom of information and
expression are the basic requirement. Technology will evolve year after year and will
help the citizens to further shape their media environments and will also help to access
plurality of sources. Access to information and citizen participation in media is the only
way and can only contribute to an increased sense of ownership and empowerment.4
2)Press Freedom and democracy
Freedom of Press is an opportunity to remind the world about the importance of
protecting the fundamental rights of expression and freedom of press, as stated in Article
199 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In this article mentioned: "Everyone
has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold
opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas
through any media and regardless of frontiers."5Without these rights, democracy cannot
prevail and development remains unattainable.

4
http://www.un.org/en/events/pressfreedomday/
5
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19
 3) Press Freedom and poverty
The multi-level impact and the central dynamic of media assistance in fostering
sustainable human development and alleviating extreme poverty is being highly
recognized by aid agencies, NGOs (non-governmental organization) and state actors. For
facilitating participation and empowerment of poor freedom of media and access to
information plays a major role. Among all the human rights Freedom of expression is the
core human right in a right based approach to poverty reduction, since it serves as a
trigger and catalyst for the realization for the realization of all other human rights.
To make freedom of expression a reality, there must be:
a) a legal and regulatory environment that allows for an open and pluralistic media sector
to emerge;
b) a political will to support the sector and a correspondence rule of law to protect it;
c) laws ensuring access to information, especially information in the public domain; and
d)the necessary media literacy skills among news consumers to critically analyze and
synthesize the information they receive to use it in their daily lives and to hold the media
accountable for its actions.6
These elements, along with media professionals be attached to the highest ethical and
professional standards designed by practitioners, serve as the fundamental infrastructure
on which freedom of expression can be superior. On this basis media serves as a
watchdog, civil society engages with authorities and decision-makers, information flows
through and between communities.

6
http://www.un.org/en/events/pressfreedomday/
Disadvantages of freedom of press

An uncritical press will allow the inflow and publication of information from as many sources as
possible, presenting an extensive range of perspectives. We need to be aware of groups of people
in society who are not media literate. They may not be discerning of this information, and may
not be equipped with skills to sieve out objective viewpoints. As a result, they may be easily
influenced by the reports provided, or may even be overwhelmed with the large amount of
information and cannot make well-informed choices.

In addition, a society needs to understand the reasons for the formulation of certain government
policies to ensure a peaceful coexistence of the society and the government. An uncritical press
can not provide a comprehensive report on the rationale of a government policy and its
advantages to society without presenting opposing viewpoints. As a result, it may become
increasingly difficult for the government to gain support from society for the newly formulated
policies.7

7
www.gptutor.blogspot.in 02/11/2016
Significance of Freedom of Press

Freedom of press and media is very important. A press or news-media enjoys greater freedom in
a democratic country. An independent press and news-media acts as an important check on
Government administrators. The duty of a free press is to raise voice against social ill or wrong.
It has been said that internal attention is the price of liberty. They raise voice against any
dictatorship, corruption and malpractices. The press and digital media works day and night to
deliver accurate news at the speed of light. The people of the country are kept informed of what
is happening in the country. Thus, freedom of press and media is the necessary requirement to
the fulfillment of democratic ideologies.

The press and media should work towards strengthening the sovereignty and integrity of a
nation. It is the duty of the press and media to build an environment where the people of the
country can cultivate unity and harmony. As compared to democratic countries, press and media
enjoys lesser freedom in socialist countries. Even in democratic countries the fury of the ruling
government against any newspaper may snatch its freedom. In all democratic countries, a man’s
worth is preserved through the press and media and hence there lies the importance of
maintaining its freedom. The question of freedom of press and media is a debating issue that
goes on still unsettled on the point whether press should be allowed to enjoy absolute freedom.

We all agree that too much censorship of press and media is bad. At the same time, new-media
should not place partial and biased news that may instigate the people against the government.
So the freedom of press and media should be best utilized through publishing impartial news and
creating public opinion against wrong.

We are living in an age when people are much more conscious than the past. For the
actualization of national principles and ideologies, people should be given the freedom of speech
and expression. But there should be a co-ordination between the Government policies and the
people’s vision. Only then, the people of a free country must enjoy the spirit of self-assertion
through this right.8

8
Importance of freedom of press and media, www.importantindia.com 01/11/2016