This Article is written by Mallika Kumari Amity University Patna an intern under Legal Vidhiya
ABSTRACT
The article throws a holistic and highlighting aspects of the evolution of the press freedom in its vital functioning matrix and aspects in India in different phases and facets with the help of legal ambit and cases evolution as coming up from time-to-time and further ahead, the author’s analysis of the challenges and suggestions in such regards for the smooth and efficient functioning of the press in its respective freedom substantial terms in ancillary and subsidiary regards in an aligned manner.
KEYWORDS
Freedom Rights, Press freedom, Golden triangle, Constitutional law, Fundamental right, Constitutional jurisprudence, History of press.
INTRODUCTION
The evolution and historical development of the press freedom in the country concerned here named, India can be truly and duely traced via various events in its own respective concrete sense that records even the recent trends being followed up in such aligned regards in the contemporary era, having its paramount roots in the past , and reflecting the crux and facets of the future outlook, in such matrix further ahead.
The press freedom has been a matter of various multi-disciplinary or inter-disciplinary branch or domain of study as one being considered under Law, Politics, Society-related and other aspects or notions of studies or knowledge’s category as well, that worked in an interlinked mannered aspect to regulate the whole system in practical and real-life context in such regards as required on adequate level in itself.
The press freedom as working as the fourth vital pillar of democracy determines the overall extent of flexibility of the press authorities at onefold, and the controlling aspect of the government branches or authorities at the another fold , which in collaborative sense of various factors be it political, social, cultural, economic and others as well, determine the overall qualitative and quantitative aspects of the system and their manner of the overall functioning with their aligned approach of liberalist and radical perspective, and further in holistic sense determines how open-minded is society in order to deliberately discuss on the several sensitive and non-sensitive issues, here concerned, at different stages or phases, subject to the legal ambit of the concerned time or era respectively, aligned with the tolerance factors of the existing system of that time or era respectively, that determines the challenges and current shaping of the contemporary phases and facets of the press freedom in India, that can be clearly understood via the discussion part as being done in the several parts of this article as well.
LEGAL CONTEXT
Paramountly, there has been different concrete phases and stages that can be traced in vital terms in order to trace the press freedom of India in its historical events and aspects as, on the prima facie aspects or primarily, under the Britisher’s era, the era of the colonial period , under the Vicerory Lytoon, the Vernacular Press Act of 1878, has been passed in with the elements of the censorship were being there and majorly on the post-independence era, The Indian Constitution of 1950, talks about the notion of the press freedom in the respective article 19(1)(a) of the part-3, talking about the matter of the fundamental rights, as specifically considered or concerned here, the freedom rights dealt under article19, that can be counted as part of the golden triangle of articles between article14-right to equality and equal protection of the law, article19-freedom right and other article21-right to life and personal liberty; as established in famous case called, MANEKA GANDHI CASE[1]; and all these comes under the ‘basic structure doctrine’ of the constitution of India, where the said matrix or matter cannot be compromised by an means as it comes under the due ambit of the basic structure of the supreme law of the country, the constitution itself, as dealt under the KESAVANANDA BHAARTI CASE[2] and other notable and landmark-numerous cases as well coming up in the picture from time-to-time.
Further, the notion of the press freedom can be traced with functioning aspects of the PRESS COUNCIL OF INDIA, PRESS TRUST OF INDIA, AND PRESS COMMISSION as well in their respective roles regards.
There has been numerous cases coming up from time-to-time that reflects the situational aspect of the society and legal framework , and even determines the collaborative functioning of the sociological school of jurisprudence, where the society and the law both impacts each other at certain level and law act as the tool in society, realist school of jurisprudence where the judge’s due respective interpretation gives actual shape to the laws in practical and real-life scenario as well subject to their own creativity and universal application of the law being considered or concerned thereby respectively, and also the historical school of jurisprudence that somehow determines the historical events being followed up as the key players in the due development of the law as here being considered or concerned in due highlight of the historical evolution of the press freedom in India.
The press freedom can be checked at both micro and macro-level of the functioning of the system from time-to-time as the situations of the different cases clearly stoods up and clarifies in its own respective considered or concerned regards on an empirical notions in practical and real-life situation based analysis, which is the real facet of the contemporary terms and status or level of the press freedom in the country that can be addressed and checked or known to one searching for the same in such aligned holistic regards in itself for the study purpose as a call for action through this article’s medium.
CASES
There has been numerous cases that, somehow reflects the pathway and journey of the historical development of the press freedom in India, as one where the honourable supreme court of the country has talk about the notion of the exact restrictions to be imposed on the press functionings but it should be validly reasonable in nature and cannot be merely imposed on baised terms or factors as under the due ambit of the article 19(1)(2) aligned with the article 19 (1)(a) of the Indian Constitution of 1950, as dealt under the case called, ROMESH THAAPR VS. STATE OF MADRAS-1950[3].
Another case called, BRIJ BHUSAN VS. STATE OF DELHI[4] OF 1950, talks about the notion of the pre-censorship aspects via the statute called, East Punjab Safety Act as being curtailing the press freedom in unreasonable terms and unconstitutional terms, that needs to be addressed as it is vital for the efficient functioning of the press in terms of its freedom in its working aspects respectively.
The other notable case called, SAKAL PAPERS LTD. VS. UNION OF INDIA[5]-1962, has talked about the notion that government cannot altered or control in unreasonable terms the volume of the newspaper as being against the notion or aligned here.
The other case called, BENNETT COLEMAN AND CO. VS. UNION OF INDIA[6] OF 1973- talked about the concrete notion of the invalid and unreasonable restrictions not to be imposed in quantitative terms on the aspects and functioning of the newspapers printing as its against the concerned or considered granted press freedom’s qualitative functioning in such regards.
The same types of contentions where the adequate reasonable restrictions points were being highlighted in due balance of the required restrictions in reasonable sense were being imposed and checked in several cases and in its own respective phases, were as- Indian express newspapers vs union of india[7]-1955, securities and exchange board of india vs. sahara[8]-2012, prabha dutt vs. union of india[9]-1982, manubhai d. shah vs. lic[10]-1992, shreya singhal vs. union of india[11]-2015, manohar lal sharma vs. union of india case[12]-2021, vinod dua vs union of india[13]-2021, kunal kamra vs. union of india[14]-2024, supreme court vs. wikimedia foundation -may 2025, sc clarification on sedition law application in august 2025, and in various other highlighting and notable landmark cases as well, depending upon the facts and circumstances of the each case’s uniqueness and complexity the matter gets shaped in regards to aligned notion of the subject-matter of this article that, is, the historical development of the press freedom in India, and there are even more cases coming up as well in contemporary terms which is further shaping the evolution in concerned or considered matrix as being done.
HIGHLIGHT
The challenges that came up in due evolution of the press freedom in India were, the combinations of; state repression elements- as involvement of corruption and other illegal and unlawful facets where the press becomes the puppet of the government at power and almost losses its essential core purpose of functioning, violence factors where the aggressive factors of the or the elements of the society hampers the safety aspects, political and other economic factors were being involved, technological surveillance aspects, structural hindrances-where the issues with regards to the involvement of lack of adequate resources and infrastructure or trained professionals as well and for such encountering of challenges the improvised form of sedition-related laws should be enforced and implemented in just and judicious regards, further the journalist safety and freedom related-laws and policy should be encouraged and maintained in holistic and stricter sense, further the other manipulating factors needs to be controlled and checked on preventive and curative basis as on vital terms, further the smooth functioning of the journalism aspects of the concerned or considered respective field in aligned aspect or matrix of the concerned or considered matter of the press freedom in the country can be encouraged by imposing and adopting such techniques as done by other nations, on comparative-study basis, collaborated in a complimenting and supplementing manner, with the empirical study being done by the experts in the due aspects in order to tackle the problems in real-life scenes and situations, with their solutions in most judicious manner as needed on adequate level with a multi-dimensional and multi-faceted and holistic approach, that will further ahead build the country’s image on universal and globalized scale on good sense as creating a example in good spirit for the protection and safeguard of the notion as concerned or considered here respectively.
CONCLUSION
Thus, it can be concluded by stating on affirmative sense, that the article-throws light and highlight the analytical cum critical aspects or faces of the historical evolution of the press freedom in India and that too in a very descriptive and holistic yet judicious sense which is helpful for the readers to develop a summarized overview and crux of the topic as considered or concerned here respectively and to further, work and as a call for action, to instigate the solutions for the challenges encountered in the due pathway for the efficient and due regards as aligned efficient functioning of the press in just regards for the country which will in an interlinked manner, will further impact the other allied and aligned branches or domains or sectors and in totality will further impact the status and image of the country at latter, universal and comparative sense with regards to journalism evolution specially in crux or content of the matrix of the democracy’s machinery functioning in its own respective regards on terms in itself.
REFERENCES
- SCC ONLINE, www.scconline.com,
- The Indian Constitution, 1950,
- International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, https://ijrpr.com,
- Editors Guild of India, https://editorsguild.in,
- LawBhoomi, https://lawbhoomi.com,
- SuperKalam, https://superkalam.com,
- Centre for Law & Policy Research, https://clpr.org.in,
- International Journal of Law, https://www.lawjournals.org,
- Legal Service India, https://www.legalserviceindia.com,
- Legal Wires, https://legal-wires.com
[1] Maneka Gandhi vs. Union of India, 1978 SCR (2) 621
[2] Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalvaru vs. State of Kerala, (1973) 4 SCC 225
[3] Romesh Thappar vs. State of Madras, AIR 1950 SC 124
[4] Brij Bhushan & Anr. Vs. the State Of Delhi, AIR 1950 SC 129
[5] Sakal Papers (P) Ltd and others vs. Union of India, (1962) 3 SCR 842
[6] Bennett Coleman & Co and others vs. Union of India and others ,( 1972) 2 SCC 788
[7] Indian Express Newspapers vs. Union of India, AIR 1986 SC 515
[8] Securities and Exhange Board of India vs. Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd and others, (2013) 1 SCC 1
[9] Prabha Dutt vs. Union of India and others, (1982) 1 SCC 1
[10] Life Insurance Corporation of India vs. Manubhai D. Shah, (1992) 3 SCC 637
[11] Shreya Singhal vs. Union of India, (2015) 5 SCC 1
[12] Manohar Lal Sharma vs. Union of India, (2014) 9 SCC 516
[13] Vinod Dua v. Union of India, (2021) 3 SCC 184
[14] Kunal Kamra vs. Union of India, 2022 SCC OnLine SC 153
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