History of the Press in India

The Indian press is deeply rooted in Indian history and had its beginnings under the aegis of
the British Raj. During the Indian struggle for freedom, various acts were enacted by the
British government to censor press coverage of parties such as the Congress which were in
the forefront of the independence movement. These acts included the Indian Press Act
(1910), Indian Press (Emergency) Act (1931-32) and the Defence of India Act during the
Second World War (1939-1945).

Freedom of the Press/Media in India

With the advent of independence, Indian leaders laid out the Constitution of India which
guaranteed certain rights to all its citizens as part of being a democracy. While there is no
specific Act in the constitution regarding the freedom of the press, Article 19 (1) a guarantees
the right of freedom of speech and expression to all citizens. The freedom of the press is
deemed to be part of this right. Ideally, this means that the communiqués and expressions in
various media cannot be censored by the government.1

However, there are limitations to this freedom – limitations that apply to both private citizens
and member of the press. The limitations are listed in Article 19 (2) and restrict freedom of
speech and expression if said freedom interferes with the following:

 Security of the State

 Sovereignty and Integrity of India

 Public Order

 Friendly Relations with Foreign States

 Contempt of Court

 Decency or Morality

The offence of sedition as laid out in Article 124A is also something that can be used to curb
the freedom of the media. The article states ‘Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or
by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or
contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Government established by
1
Chowdhury, Shyamal K. "The effect of democracy and press freedom on corruption: an empirical
test." Economics letters 85, no. 1 (2004): 93-101.
law in India, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which a fine may be added, or
with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with
fine.’

However, this isn’t absolute as laid out in Explanation 3 which states ‘Comments expressing
disapprobation of the administrative or other action of the Government without exciting or
attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection, do not constitute an offence under this
section.’

Current Position
Although India is considered the largest democracy in the world, the freedom of the press is
declining in the country. As per the World Press Freedom Index of 2018, India holds a
position of 138 out of 180. This has slipped down two points from 136 in 2017. The highest
position the country achieved was in 2002 when it was ranked at 80. Since then there has
been an alarming decline. Reporter without Borders, the organization that releases the index,
cites growing intolerance and the murders of journalists as the reasons behind this decline.

Conclusion
As the world’s largest democracy, India has a duty to ensure that the press has the right to
disseminate information and express opinions without excessive censorship. Unfortunately,
in recent years, this right has been increasingly curbed. This oppression of the press is an
alarming trend as it does not allow for proper checks and balances on the government and its
activities. The Indian people need to remember that in order to have a strong democracy they
need a strong and free press.
Constitutional Aspect of Press Freedom

INTRODUCTION

Democracy is a government of the people, for the people and by the people and which gives
equal chance to all the citizens to participate and play a significant role in the political
process, ensures and guarantees certain rights and freedoms to the people constituting the
policy. It is a form of government which is subject to popular sovereignty. Of the
fundamental freedoms that the citizens enjoy, freedom of speech and expression is one of the
most important ones as it gives substance and meaning to ‘participation’ of the people.

A democratic system to run in its full potential need wide participation on the part of general
masses which is impossible without the people being informed about the various issues. Thus
reliable information sources form an important constituent of a democratic society. This is
where the role and importance of media arises2.

The media has undoubtedly evolved and become more active over the years. Mass media has
a great influence on human life in the present century. They have provided information and
entertainment to people across countries. Print media has been the leader of mass media over
a considerable period of time. But now it has got competition from Television, which is
reshaping many of the social responses. Radio apart from providing news and views has also
developed a flair for entertainment, thereby getting a lot of acceptance. There is also the new
media with the internet being its flag bearer. The Internet has indeed made it possible to
disseminate information and ideas in real time across the globe.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION

“Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all
liberties” – John Milton.

The freedom of speech is considered as one of the first condition of liberty. It occupies an
important and preferred position in the hierarchy of the liberty, It is also said that the freedom
of speech is the mother all liberties. Freedom of speech means the right to express one’s own

2
Besley, Timothy, and Robin Burgess. "The political economy of government responsiveness: Theory
and evidence from India." The quarterly journal of economics 117, no. 4 (2002): 1415-1451.
convictions and opinions freely by words of mouth, writing, printing, pictures or any other
mode. In the modern era, right to freedom of speech is one of the essence of free society and
it must be protected at all time. Liberty to express opinions and ideas without any hindrance,
and especially without any fear of punishment plays an important role in that particular
society and ultimately for the state.

‘Freedom’ means the absence of control, interference or restriction. Hence the expression
‘freedom of the press’ means the right to print and publish without any interference from the
state or any public authority. Since, in India, freedom of expression is guaranteed
by Art.19(1)(a) of the constitution, and it has been held by the Supreme Court[1] that
freedom of the press is included in that wider guarantee, it is unnecessary to plead for the
freedom of the press in this country. Freedom of speech is not only guaranteed by the
constitution of statutes of various states but also by various international conventions such as
by Universal Declaration of Human Rights, European Convention on Human Rights
and Fundamental Freedoms, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights etc.
These declarations discuss freedom of speech and expression.

Freedom of speech enjoys special position as far as India is concerned. The importance of
freedom of expression and speech can be easily understood by the fact that preamble of the
constitution itself ensures to all citizens inter alia, liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith,
and worship. The constitutional significance of the freedom of speech consists in the
preamble of the constitution and is transformed as a fundamental and human right in Article
19(1) (a) as “freedom of speech and expression. With the explanation of the scope of
“freedom of speech and expression”, the Supreme Court has said that the words must be
broadly constructed to include the freedom to circulate one’s views by words of mouth or in
writing or through audiovisual instrumentalities3. Freedom of Speech and Expression means
the right to express one’s own convictions and opinions freely by words of mouth, writing,
printing, pictures or any other mode. It thus includes the expression of one’s own idea
through any communicable medium or visible representation, such as gesture, signs, and the
like.

Moreover, it is important to note that liberty of one must not offend the liberty of others.
Patanjali Shastri J., in A.K. Gopalan case, observed, ‘man as a rational being desires to do

3
Minattur, Joseph. Freedom of the press in India: constitutional provisions and their application.
Springer, 2012.
many things, but in a civil society his desires will have to be controlled with the exercise of
similar desires by other individuals’. It, therefore, includes the right to propagate one’s views
through the print media or through any other communication channel e.g.; the radio and the
television. Every citizen of this country therefore has the right to air his or their views
through the printing and or the electronic media subject of course to permissible restrictions
imposed under Article 19(2) of the constitution. In sum, the fundamental principle involved
here is the people’s right to know. Freedom of speech and Expression should, therefore,
receive generous support from all those who believe in the participation of people in the
administration.

CONSTITUTIONAL ASPECT

Art.19 (1) (a) secures to every citizen the freedom of speech and expression. This has to be
read with clause (2) which provides that the said right shall not prevent the operation of law
relating to the matters specified therein. The freedom of the press is not confined to
newspapers, and periodicals, but also includes pamphlets, leaflets, circulars, and every sort of
publication which affords a vehicle of information and opinion[2]. There is no need to
emphasis that a free press, which is neither directed by the executive nor subjected to
censorship, is a vital element in a free state; but in particular, a free, regularly published,
political press is essential in the modern democracy.

Therefore the press keeps and enlightens the citizens to make political decisions, know the
opinion of others to weigh them up against each other. The press, thus provides the
information, adopts its own point of view, and thus works as a direction giving force to the
public debate. It stands as a permanent means of communication and control between the
people and their elected representatives in Parliament and Government. Banning of
publication in any newspaper of any matter relating to any particular subject or class of
subjects would be obnoxious to the right of free speech. It is certainly a serious encroachment
on the valuable and cherished right to freedom of speech[3].

The Freedom of speech and Expression includes the freedom of propagation of ideas and is
ensured by the freedom of circulation. ‘The right to freedom of speech cannot be taken away
with the object of placing restrictions on the business activities of a citizen. Freedom of
speech can be restricted only in the interests of the security of state, friendly relations with
the foreign states, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court,
defamation or incitement to an offence. It cannot, like the freedom to carry on business, be
curtailed in the interests of the general public’[4].

‘It is the duty of the state to protect the freedom of expression since it is a liberty guaranteed
against the state. The state cannot plead its inability to handle the hostile audience problem. It
is its obligatory duty to prevent it and protect the freedom of expression’[5].

RIGHT TO INFORMATION

Right to know, to information is other facet of freedom of speech. The right to know, to
receive and to impart information has been recognized within the right to freedom of speech
and expression. A citizen has a fundamental right to use the best means of imparting and
receiving information and as such to have an access to telecasting for the purpose. The Right
to Information Act, 2005, especially talks about people’s right to ask information from
Government official, which prohibits discloser of certain documents under section 8 of the
Act. These exceptions are generally the grounds of reasonable restrictions over freedom of
speech and expression under Article 19(1) of the Constitution of India. By saying we can
conclude that ‘right to information is nothing but one small limb of right of speech and
expression’4.

The right to receive and right to impart has been established as a part of freedom of speech
and expression guaranteed by subclause (a) of clause 1 of Art.19 of the Constitution
subjected to reasonable restrictions.

It has been held by the Supreme Court in Secretary, Ministry of I & B, Government of India
v. Cricket Association Of Bengal that, “The freedom of speech and expression includes right
to acquire information and to disseminate it. Freedom of speech and expression is necessary,
for self-expression which is an important means of free conscience and self-fulfillment. It
enables people to contribute to debates on social and moral issues. It is the best way to find a
truest model of anything since it is only through it that the widest possible range of ideas can
circulate. It is the only vehicle of political discourse so essential to democracy. Equally
important is the role it plays in facilitating artistic and scholarly endeavors of all sorts.

4
Minattur, Joseph. Freedom of the press in India: constitutional provisions and their application.
Springer, 2012.
The right to communicate, therefore, includes right to communicate through any media that is
available whether print or electronic or audio-visual such as advertisement, movie, article,
speech, etc. That is why freedom of speech and expression includes freedom of the press.
The freedom of the press in turn includes right to circulate and also to determine the volume
of such circulation. This freedom includes the freedom to communicate or circulate one’s
opinion without interference to as large a population in the country, as well as abroad, as is
possible to reach.”[7]

ROLE OF MEDIA IN DEMOCRACY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE

Good governance is an indeterminate term used to describe how public institutions conduct
public affairs and manage public resources. Governance is the process of decision making
and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented)”.[8] Good
governance is about the processes for making and implementing decisions. Its not about
making ‘correct’ decisions but about the best possible process for making those decision. The
concept of “good governance” centres around the responsibility of governments and
governing bodies to meet the needs of the masses as opposed to select groups in society.

Media usually refers to mass media, which is any medium that provides citizens with
information regarding all the current affairs of any area at a large scale. It is unbiased
reporting of facts through print, television, radio or Internet.

Traditionally and constitutionally, the media has no defined role in governance. It doesn’t
have the power to change any decisions made by the various arms of a state––the legislature,
executive and the judiciary. Yet, the media plays one of the most important roles in the
functioning of any society. It amplifies the voice of citizens and communicates their opinions
to the lawmakers.5

Access to information is essential for a democratic society because it ensures that citizens
make responsible, informed choices rather than acting out of ignorance or misinformation
and information also serves a checking function. It is well known that media overlaps other
functional areas of democracy and governance. For example, support for media may yield
results in governance activities, particularly those related to decentralization, anti-corruption,
and citizen participation in the policy process. The rule of law may be further
5
Ganguly, Sumit. "India Under Modi: Threats to Pluralism." Journal of Democracy 30, no. 1 (2019):
83-90.
institutionalized by support for an independent media that keeps a check on the judiciary,
reports on the courts, and promotes a legal enabling environment suitable for press freedom.
Free and fair elections conducted through transparent processes require a media sector which
gives candidates equal access, and reports the relevant issues in a timely, objective manner.

“If it were left on me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or
newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” –
Thomas Jefferson

According to the first Press Commission in India freedom of the Press refers to hold opinions,
to receive and to impart information through the printed word without any interference from
any public authority. Thus it is the right of the citizen o publish without any prior permission
from the government or any other public authority, subject only to the legal liability for what
he has chosen to publish. Freedom of press has three essential features; namely freedom of
publication, freedom of access to all sources of information and freedom of circulation. Press
freedom, thus plays a vital role in the formulation of public opinion on issues of public
importance.

If media is to have any meaningful role in democracy and governance it must be free and
independent from the control of government. The ultimate goal of media is to serve the public
interest. The public interest is defined as representing a plurality of voices both through a
greater number of outlets and through the diversity of views and voices reflected within one
outlet.

Television and radio have made a significant achievement in educating rural illiterate masses
in making them aware of all the events in their language. Coverage of exploitative
malpractices of village heads and moneylenders has helped in taking stringent actions against
them by attracting government attention. The media also exposes loopholes in the democratic
system, which ultimately helps government in filling the vacuums of loopholes and making a
system more accountable, responsive and citizen-friendly. A democracy without media is like
a vehicle without wheels.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru called media ‘the watch dog of our democracy’. This handed the
media a huge responsibility in the functioning of our society. Thus media plays the role of
communicator in democracy. They make people aware and conscious of their state of affairs
by providing them with in depth insight on important issues concerning people. Though
freedom of press is essential and indispensable for the successful functioning of the Indian
democracy, it is very often silenced by the executive, gagged by the legislature, suppressed
by judiciary, repressed and muzzled by the pressure groups.6

CONCLUSION

The role of media in India, the largest democracy of the world is different from merely
disseminating information and entertainment. Educating the masses for their social upliftment
needs to be in its ambit as well. In a country where there is large scale poverty,
unemployment and underdevelopment media has a responsibility towards developmental
journalism. It has a role to play behind the formation of public opinion which can force the
political parties to address the core issues haunting the country’s progress. It is thus referred
to as the fourth pillar of democracy. However; public opinion can be manipulated by vested
interests to serve their own goals.

Good governance is an ideal system which is difficult to achieve in its totality. In other
words, no country or society has ever said to achieve good governance in totality. We can
only come close to this by our activities with the aim of making this ideal a reality. The
journey of India from developing nation to a developed nation will depend on the role played
by the media in the country. It needs to be focused on real matters, which are mostly social
and economic in nature, instead of trying to divert the attention to the known issues.
Achieving good governance requires the understanding and participation of every member of
society. The media, their significant roles, channels and contents, are considered to be the
most powerful weapon to make this achievement a reality.

6
Zlotorynski, Eytan. "Freedom of expression in methylated regions." Nature Reviews Molecular Cell
Biology 20, no. 2 (2019): 66.
Press Freedom and Responsible Journalism

Introduction
A free press and a free judiciary are two very important cornerstones of a democracy.
Together, they are responsible for ensuring transparency and holding those in power
accountable for their policies and actions. Although their actual functions are different, both
institutions act as checks and balances for the government and, therefore, their roles are
complementary.

Roles of Press and Judiciary

It is the responsibility of the media to bring forth news and facts that will shape public
opinion and allow the citizens of a country to exercise their rights. 7 The judiciary’s role is to
protect those rights. Therefore, it becomes clear that in order to function efficiently, both the
media and the judiciary must be independent of any outside influences that may attempt to
skew information or legal decisions.

However, the roles of these two institutions do not end here. The judiciary is also responsible
for protecting the freedom of the press. At the same time, the press is responsible for
reporting facts and events in a manner that helps the judiciary make impartial legal decisions
that can affect the course of a nation. While it is the media’s job to raise important issues and
update the citizens of a country, it is the judiciary’s job to ensure that it can do so without
interference.

The two systems also act as checks and balances for each other. The right to freedom of
speech and expression isn’t absolute and it is up to the judiciary to decide when the press is
being denied this right and when it cannot exercise this right. On the other hand, it is up to the
media to ensure that the judiciary dispenses justice in a transparent and effective manner.

There are four pillars that support a working democracy – the executive, legislature, judiciary
and press. Of these, the latter two are vital to the proper functioning of a democracy. Each
must protect and reinforce the other in order for the power to remain in the hands of the
people in a democracy.

7
Minattur, Joseph. Freedom of the press in India: constitutional provisions and their application.
Springer, 2012.
A democracy is a system wherein power is supposed to lie in the hands of the people. They
may choose to exercise this power directly or to elect representatives from amongst their
numbers. These representatives then form a governing body such as a parliament.

In order for a democracy to work, it needs to have four solid aspects – free and fair elections,
protection of the people’s human rights, the participation of citizens and the rule of law
applied equally to everyone. However, without the freedom of the press, all of this is moot.

Freedom of Press in Democracy

There can be no denying the fact that a democracy will only survive if there is freedom of the
press or media. Since a democracy depends upon its citizens, these citizens must be well-
informed so that they can make political decisions and elect their representatives
appropriately. However, it is impossible or creates difficulty for every citizen to go searching
for such information themselves.

This is where the press comes in. It falls upon the news media to collect, verify and
disseminate the information that can help people make the decisions that allow a democracy
to work. As such, the press becomes a powerful tool for the efficient functioning of a
democratic government. By reporting verified facts, the press not only allows people to be
knowledgeable about what is going on but also acts as a check on the government.

It becomes obvious, then, that the press must be free to do its job. It should not have to face
censorship that hides crucial information from the public. The right to freedom of speech and
expression also includes the right of the press to the same freedom. If members of the press
are intimidated and harassed or are discredited without reason, the people lose the only tool
they have to participate effectively in the running of their country.

Without freedom of the press, no government can be considered ‘of the people, by the people
and for the people’. Unfortunately, the past few years have seen increasing curbs, direct or
indirect, on the media and its ability to report. These curbs have come in the form of
harassment, threats and intimidation and are having increasingly disastrous consequences for
the dissemination of unbiased information. Unless this trend is reversed, we may see some of
the most powerful democracies in the world collapsing soon.
It has been said that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. The institution that maintains that
vigil is the press or the media. In other words, if the people are to be free, it is the job of the
media to ensure that it keeps a watch on those in power in whose hands the freedom lies. In
order to do so, press that is free of any outside influences or influencers is absolutely vital.

Importance of Freedom of Press

The press has a responsibility to act as check and balance for the administration and the
government. It is the press that raises its voice against social ills, malpractices, corruption and
oppression. It is also the press that gathers, verifies and distributes events, facts and
information that allow the people of a country to make sound judgments.

However, none of this is possible if the press itself is silenced or if its voice is only allowed
when those in power permit. The information that comes from the press at such a time
becomes suspect. Worse yet, the press may not be allowed to report news or express opinions
that run contrary to what the people in power want. This means a citizenry that is woefully
uninformed and, therefore, powerless.

This is not mere speculation. Time and time again, recent history has proven that censorship
of the press is one of the most common features of a dictatorship. The censorship may not
even be direct or obvious at first. A government may often start by discrediting the news
media and what is being reported. It may stridently reinforce the notion that the media cannot
be trusted by undermining the news and facts that media presents to the public.

This is when the media begins to exercise self-censorship to avoid outrage manufactured by
the government. As time passes, this self-censorship may become more ingrained or such
distrust for the news media may develop among the people that they call for the government
to intervene8. Of course, once the media is muzzled, there is no one to report truths. In the

8
Sobel, Russell S., Nabamita Dutta, and Sanjukta Roy. "Beyond borders: Is media freedom
contagious?." Kyklos 63, no. 1 (2010): 133-143.
absence of those truths, the citizenry has no power to affect the necessary changes and the
government reigns supreme.

No right is absolute. This is true even for the right to freedom of speech or expression.
However, the right does exist and as long as it does, the power lies in the hands of the people.
Since the freedom of the press also falls under this right, it is clear that the press is the tool
that indirectly protects all other rights that a people may enjoy. Curbing the freedom of the
press is, thus, curbing the freedom of the people.

Social responsibility is the obligation to guide one’s actions on the basis of the effect the
actions will have on society, economy, culture and environment. What this means is that
everyone has a responsibility to express themselves in a way that doesn’t harm the social,
economic, cultural and environmental aspects of the world we live in.

Social Responsibility and Freedom of the Press

The press has a powerful role to play in any setting. It disseminates information and
expresses opinions that guide and shape the public’s opinion and stances. Nowhere can this
be seen better than in the reporting done in the 20th and 21stcenturies across the globe. This is
the time that reporting of facts became widespread and print media came into its own9.

The theory of social responsibility of the press lies between total authoritarianism and
libertarianism. As per the theory, a free press should be allowed without any censorship but
the content should be self-regulated and open to discussion in public panels. It helps establish
guidelines for professionalism in reporting and insists upon high standards of quality in terms
of truth, accuracy and information.

The fact is that media without any fetters can be dangerous. It can report anything, twist any
facts or even present outright lies in order to maintain its influence. It can be manipulated
quite easily and, in turn, can manipulate the very public opinion it is supposed to shape.
Responsible journalism doesn’t only mean reporting facts. It also means placing those facts in

9
Lerner, Hanna. "Permissive constitutions, democracy, and religious freedom in India, Indonesia,
Israel, and Turkey." World Politics 65, no. 4 (2013): 609-655.
context and, under certain circumstances, even refraining from reporting facts or expressing
opinions that can cause harm.

Specific Example
The perfect example of this situation is the Mumbai attacks on November 26. When the
Rapid Action Force, Marine Commandos and National Security Guard surrounded the Taj
Hotel and the Oberoi Trident, 67 channels were on hand to broadcast live the proceedings.
Thanks to minute-by-minute updates, the terrorists knew exactly what was going on outside
and were able to plan their defence accordingly. The job of the commandos became infinitely
more difficult as they tried to subdue the terrorists and rescue hostages.

After the event, the Supreme Court ruled that the media had been extremely irresponsible and
endangered the lives of not only the rescue teams but also the hostages. In their bid to
increase their ratings, various TV channels cast aside all common sense and carelessly and
ceaselessly released updates that helped the terrorists while hindering security forces. While
freedom of expression is a right, it isn’t without its limitations and during those fateful days,
the news media flagrantly violated those limitations for revenue.

There can be no doubt that a strong and free press is crucial to the functioning of any
democracy. However, like any other right, the right to freedom of expression must be
exercised with caution lest it does more harm than good. Unfortunately, news media depends
on ratings to generate revenue and has demonstrated time and again that it will cross many
moral lines to get both. In order to be truly effective, the press needs to remember that it has a
responsibility to its audience and to society as a whole to be rational and conscientious in its
reporting.

The belief that expressions and communiqués through various media such as print, television
and the internet are a right to be exercised freely without government intervention is known
as freedom of the press and media. This freedom is considered one of the cornerstones of
democracy. In order to keep checks and balances on the government and its activities, the
public must be adequately informed. This information is supposed to be dispensed by the
press.
PRE CENSORSHIP IN INDIA

Pre-censorship generally means that the media has decided not to discuss a particular topic
for their own reasons rather than waiting for the government to demand it.