1. Ch: 2 Origin of Press laws Indian Context

2. Why press legislations? Press originated in Europe in the 16 th Century The control over the citizens was broken for the first time The Church and the Monarch wanted restrictions- to control the content Initially severe punishments were meted out

3. Early days of press The earliest controls were in the form of registrations- licensing Licensing- permits to start a printing press/newspaper Royal Charter- only a few influential people got the permits Trouble-makers were deliberately kept out

4. Licensing in India Hickey- the earliest newspaper came out in 1780 There were no restrictions/laws governing the publishing in India The governor-general could take action only under the general laws of the land Punished and deported under the Sedition Law Inadequate- led to the Licensing Act

5. Prior Restraint Licensing- get the official permission to start a newspaper/keep a printing press The permit could be taken away in case of violation Printers were forced to deposit a huge amount of money- forfeit to government Finally, the act was removed from the statute but replaced with censorship

6. Censorship in India Pre-censorship- before publishing anything the newspaper has to be approved for printing by the authorities Allowed the government to control content perceived to be against the state/people in the government Prior-restraint- against freedom of press and stunned the growth

7. Defamation Defamation- any communication that lowers the reputation of an individual in the eyes of the society Both civil and criminal defamation Brought into law through the IPC 1860 Any journalist/newspaper writing scurrilous reports- punished

8. Vernacular Press Act Attention of the British in India was the English language press The language press had more influence- First war of independence 1857 The govt. brought in Vernacular Press Act- silence the language press

9. Indian Penal Code Punishment for violating: Communal harmony- inciting hatred or enmity among different communities- Art. 153A Art. 295A and Art. 298 Decency and morality- any writing, photos that are construed as obscene Art. 292A, Art. 292, Art. 293, Art. 294 Public order- writing that disturbs public order is punishable – 1 st Constitutional Amendment 1951

10. Official Secrets Act The British Official Secrets Act brought down to India Indian Official Secrets Act, 1918- to protect official secrets/state secrets Stop and punish journalists/newspapers giving government information to the public