Education

Why Is The Freedom Of The Press Important In A Democracy

Why is the freedom of the Press Important in a Democracy

 

As Mahatma Gandhi said,” One of the objects of a newspaper is to understand the popular feeling and give the impression to it, another is to arouse among the people certain desirable sentiments, and third is the fearlessness to expose popular effects”. During the British Rule, Newspaper plays a very important role in the freedom struggle, all freedom fighters used the medium of the press to communicate and make Indian citizens aware of the injustice towards them. Due to the increased protest and struggle for freedom, British officials introduced different laws and regulations to impose several restrictions on the press. From there arises the never-ending struggle for the freedom of the press, and its need in the democracy.

In India Press and Media hold a special position, also they are the means which connect India to the whole world also to other parts of India. Every citizen has one or other means of communication to get an update on daily news and current affairs. This also brings many responsibilities to them, thus this also requires proper assistance from the law, Many legal professionals tend to join the field of Journalism as it provides them with the opportunity to connect with the masses and share the truth in a well-established manner. Also, these professionals have extensive knowledge of Media Law and legal restrictions on the press. A Journalism student or law student can get this knowledge and also learn about the Press Council of India( PCI ) taught by top industry experts through online legal courses, as they are part of the constitution as well as there are several acts and ministries just for Media and broadcasting Law.

Definition of Freedom of Press: 

Richard M Schmidt once said,” Our freedom depends in the large part, on the constitution of the free press, which is the strongest guarantee of a free society” The main question here is what is freedom of the press, and how does it have any impact on a country or society. The actual definition of freedom of the press goes as “ the right of newspaper, magazine, press and media to report the news without being controlled by the government”. The freedom of the press in India is constantly disregarded since before independence. At first, it was Britishers then after independence, it was India’s government that dismissed the freedom of the press. A free Press is a very powerful tool to eradicate the corruption and social & political evils of society. 

History of Media Laws:

The first Newspaper in India was started by a British person named James Augustus Hickey, called “Hickey’s Bengal Gazette”, which was seized by the British government claiming that it created a nuisance and was publishing defamatory statements against British officials. This was the starting point for the press in India after this many people started publishing newspapers, and most of the publications were started by freedom fighters, it is also one of the reasons that all freedom fighters have played the role of journalists at least once in their life. It is said that the reason behind the victory of Freedom fighters and the independence of India is Newspapers and the press.

But along with the increased number of publications, also increased the number of provisions and acts redistricting the freedom of the press by the Britishers. Britishers implemented acts like; the Vernacular Press Act (1878), the Censorship Act (1799), the Registration Act (1867), the Metcalfe Act (1835), the Licensing Act( 1857), the Licensing Regulations (1823), and the Indian Press Act (1910). These acts put unreasonable restrictions and seized the freedom of the Indian Press. Due to these restrictions, several journalists were imprisoned, many publications were stopped and the person writing something against the Britishers or British rule faced serious consequences.

Emergency and Freedom of Press:

25th June 1975, the Black Day of Indian History as it is said, was also the black day for the press as the first thing that happened after the emergency was imposed was freedom of the Press was seized and the publications were stopped by the government by cutting off the electricity of the Press houses in the midnight hours of 25th June. Due to the emergency, the freedom of speech and expression was also suspended along with all other fundamental rights. All the press publications were raided and there was no circulation of newspapers for the next few days. Also, the Press was told that these are guidelines which have to be followed in order to maintain peace, law and order in the whole country. Many journalists were arrested throughout the emergency without any legal documentation and FIR, without any valid reasons. The emergency has exploited the rights of the press and it has yet a very large impact on the press industry.

Laws regarding Freedom of Press:

There are many laws that are related to media and press as well as the Freedom of the Press. There are several constitutional provisions that ensure the freedom of the press, these provisions are not separately made for media and press but regardless they provide protection to the media and Journalists such as Article 19( which state that all citizens have freedom of expression and speech), this article plays an important role in press freedom. Also here are some rules and acts that are applicable to media and press freedom and their industry, such as; The Working Journalists Act(1958), The Newspaper (price and pages) act (1956), The Press and Registration of Book Act (1867), The Press Council Act (1978), The Press Council Rules(1979), The Press Council of India(Grant of Certified Copies) Regulations(1999), and most importantly Registration of Newspapers (Central) Rules (1956). Along with these, there are several liberties which are provided to the press by the government and law so that they can provide unbiased and complete information to the citizens of India like; 

  • Freedom of access to all sources of information

  • Freedom of Publications

  • Freedom of Circulation

Restrictions on Freedom of Press:

The freedom of the press is not absolute, there are several restrictions present both in principle and practice all the time. But it is an undeniable fact that these restrictions are necessary because absolute liberty will lead to much mishappening and exploitation of power. Just as the Indian constitution provides freedom to the press, it also provides reasonable restrictions itself like Article 19 (2), these articles impose reasonable restrictions on freedom of speech and restriction on public interest, Restriction that implies that nothing under Article 19(1) (A) should threaten; Sovereignty and Integrity of the State, Security of the State, Public Order, Decency and Moral, Contempt of Court, Defamation, Friendly relation with the Foreign States, and incitement to an Offence. These are the restrictions that are imposed on the press and The Press Council of India are responsible to keep this in check. Law aspirants studying media law must know all the restrictions and also should know which restrictions are reasonable and which are unreasonable. Online law certification courses on Media law teach all this along with the establishment of the Press Council of India.

Conclusion:

India’s position on the World Press Freedom index 2022 is 150 out of 180 countries. The rank is very poor in the whole world and it has become necessary to put some actions in the regard to Freedom of the Press. This responsibility falls on the shoulder of young law and media students it will bring a lot of change in the country and also will make people more aware. Many legal learning platforms offer online legal certification courses on Media law which describes all fields of a career in all media types for law aspirants as well as journalism students. The issue of freedom of the press is brought up many times on a global level, related to this The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the Nobel Peace Price 2021 to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov for their efforts in order to safeguarding the freedom of expression, which is the basis of democracy and Lasting Peace. Thus, in India also a free press is required in order to maintain the democratic system of the country.