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The Constitution of India provides the right to freedom, given in article 19 with the view of guaranteeing individual rights that were considered vital by the framers of the constitution. The right to freedom in Article 19 guarantees the freedom of speech and expression, as one of its six freedoms.^[1]

History

The law in the current form finds its root in the Hate Speech Law Section 295(A) enacted by the British Administration in India. This act was brought about in the backdrop of a series of murders of Arya Samaj leaders who polemicized against Islam. This started in 1897 with the murder of Pandit Lekhram by a Muslim because he had written a book criticizing Islam.^[2] Koenraad Elst argues that "Section 295b was not instituted by Hindu society, but against it. It was imposed by the British on the Hindus in order to shield Islam from criticism".^[2] The murder series caught lime-light in December, 1926 after the murder of Swami Shraddhananda for the protection he gave to a family of converts from Islam to Hinduism in addition to writing Hindu Sangathan, Saviour of the Dying Race in 1926.^[2][3]

Precedence to this law started even before this as in a case against Arya Samaj preacher Dharm Bir in 1915, ten Muslims were sentenced for rioting, but Dharm Bir was also charged under section 298 for "using offensive phrases and gestures (…) with the deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings" of another community; and under Section 153, for "wantonly provoking the riot which subsequently occurred" and "a judge was brought in who could assure conviction".^[4]

Constitutional antecedents

The Constitution of India 1950 was drafted by the Constituent Assembly from 1946 to 1950. However, this Constitution drew on a longer history of antecedents documents drafted either as legislation governing British India or aspirational political documents.^[5]

The Constitution of India Bill 1895, widely considered to be the first Indian articulation of a constitutional vision, contained the following provision related to freedom of speech and expression - 'Every citizen may express his thoughts by words or writings, and publish them in print without liability to censure, but they shall be answerable to abuses, which they may commit in the exercise of this right, in the cases and in the mode the Parliament shall determine.'

Other constitutional antecedent documents too contained provisions on freedom of speech and expression. These included: Commonwealth of India Bill 1925, Nehru Report 1928, and States and Minorities 1945. In most cases, the provisions contained some form of restrictions on freedom of speech and expression.

The Debate in the Constituent Assembly

The Constituent Assembly of India debated on freedom of speech and expression (Article 19(1) of the Draft Constitution,1948) on 1 December 1948, 2 December 1948 and 17 October 1949. The draft article read:

'Subject to the other provisions of this article, all citizens shall have the right – (a) to freedom of speech and expression; …

Proviso: Nothing in sub-clause (a) of clause (1) of this article shall affect the operation of any existing law, or prevent the State from making any law, relating to libel, slander, defamation, sedition or any other matter which offends against decency or morality or undermines the security of, or tends to overthrow, the State.'

Most members of the Constituent Assembly welcomed the inclusion of the right. However, conflict emerged around the provision in the Article that placed restrictions on the right: while some members opposed the mention of restrictions on the right, others supported it. Members who opposed the restrictions argued that 1. There is no point in having a right to freedom of speech and expression in the presence of restrictions. 2. Putting restrictions on the freedom of speech and expression was a British practice.

Members who supported the restrictions argued that

1. Restrictions were fine as the government was no longer a colonial one.
2. The right to free speech was not absolute anywhere in the world.
3. The law, order and security of the state could not be compromised.

In the end, the Constituent Assembly voted on the Article and included a "Right to freedom of speech and expression" in the Constitution of India, 1950 with restrictions similar to the ones mentioned in the Draft Constitution, 1948.

Constitutional law

In a landmark judgment of the case Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India,^[6] the Supreme Court held that the freedom of speech and expression has no geographical limitation and it carries with it the right of a citizen to gather information and to exchange thought with others not only in India but abroad also.

The constitution of India does not specifically mention the freedom of press. Freedom of press is implied from the Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. Thus the press is subject to the restrictions that are provided under the Article 19(2) of the Constitution. Before Independence, there was no constitutional or statutory provision to protect the freedom of press. As observed by the Privy Council in Channing Arnold v. King Emperor:^[7] "The freedom of the journalist is an ordinary part of the freedom of the subject and to whatever length, the subject in general may go, so also may the journalist, but apart from statute his privilege is no other and no higher. The range of his assertions, his criticisms or his comments is as wide as, and no wider than that of any other subject". The Preamble of the Indian Constitution ensures to all its citizens the liberty of expression. Freedom of the press has been included as part of freedom of speech and expression under the Article 19 of the UDHR. The heart of the Article 19 says: "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."

In Romesh Thapar v. State of Madras,^[8] Patanjali Shastri, Chief Justice observed: "Freedom of speech and of the press lay at the foundation of all democratic organisations, for without free political discussion no public education, so essential for the proper functioning of the process of popular government, is possible."

The Supreme Court observed in Union of India v. Assn. for Democratic Reforms:^[9] "Onesided information, disinformation, misinformation and non-information, all equally create an uninformed citizenry which makes democracy a farce. Freedom of speech and expression includes right to impart and receive information which includes freedom to hold opinions".

In Indian Express v. Union of India,^[10] it has been held that the press plays a very significant role in the democratic machinery. The courts have duty to uphold the freedom of press and invalidate all laws and administrative actions that abridge that freedom. Freedom of press has three essential elements. They are:

1. freedom of access to all sources of information,^[11]
2. freedom of publication, and
3. freedom of circulation.^[8]

In India, the press has not been able to practise its freedom to express the popular views. In Sakal Papers Ltd. v. Union of India,^[12] the Daily Newspapers (Price and Page) Order, 1960, which fixed the number of pages and size which a newspaper could publish at a price was held to be violative of freedom of press and not a reasonable restriction under the Article 19(2). Similarly, in Bennett Coleman and Co. v. Union of India,^[13] the validity of the Newsprint Control Order, which fixed the maximum number of pages, was struck down by the Supreme Court of India holding it to be violative of provision of Article 19(1)(a) and not to be reasonable restriction under Article 19(2). The Court struck down the rebuttal of the Government that it would help small newspapers to grow.

In Romesh Thapar v. State of Madras (1950), entry and circulation of the English journal "Cross Road", printed and published in Bombay, was banned by the Government of Madras. The same was held to be violative of the freedom of speech and expression, as "without liberty of circulation, publication would be of little value". In Prabha Dutt v. Union of India (1982), the Supreme Court directed the Superintendent of Tihar Jail to allow representatives of a few newspapers to interview Ranga and Billa, the death sentence convicts, as they wanted to be interviewed.

There are instances when the freedom of press has been suppressed by the legislature. The authority of the government, in such circumstances, has been under the scanner of judiciary. In the case of Brij Bhushan v. State of Delhi (AIR 1950 SC 129), the validity of censorship previous to the publication of an English Weekly of Delhi, the Organiser was questioned. The court struck down the Section 7 of the East Punjab Safety Act, 1949, which directed the editor and publisher of a newspaper "to submit for scrutiny, in duplicate, before the publication, till the further orders , all communal matters all the matters and news and views about Pakistan, including photographs, and cartoons", on the ground that it was a restriction on the liberty of the press. Similarly, prohibiting newspaper from publishing its own views or views of correspondents about a topic has been held to be a serious encroachment on the freedom of speech and expression.^[14]

Freedom of the press

The Indian Constitution, while not mentioning the word "press", provides for "the right to freedom of speech and expression" (Article 19(1) a). However this right is subject to restrictions under sub clause, whereby this freedom can be restricted for reasons of "sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, preserving decency, preserving morality, in relation to contempt, court, defamation, or incitement to an offense". Laws such as the Official Secrets Act and Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act^[23] (PoTA) have been used to limit press freedom. Under PoTA, person could be detained for up to six months for being in contact with a terrorist or terrorist group. PoTA was repealed in 2006, but the Official Secrets Act 1923 continues.

For the first half-century of independence, media control by the state was the major constraint on press freedom. Indira Gandhi famously stated in 1975 that All India Radio is "a Government organ, it is going to remain a Government organ..."^[24] With the liberalization starting in the 1990s, private control of media has burgeoned, leading to increasing independence and greater scrutiny of government.

It ranks poorly at 138th^[25] rank out of 180 listed countries in the Press Freedom Index 2018 released by Reporters Without Borders (RWB).^[26] Analytically India's press freedom, as could be deduced by the Press Freedom Index, has constantly reduced since 2002, when it culminated in terms of apparent freedom, achieving a rank of 80 among the reported countries. In 2018, India's freedom of press ranking declined two placed to 138. In explaining the decline, RWB cited growing intolerance from Hindu nationalist supporters of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the murders of journalists such as Gauri Lankesh.^[27][28][29]

In August 2022, more than 100 international writers and artists expressed concern over the attacks on freedom of expression in India. These writers joined the writers’ organisations - PEN America and PEN International - to sign a letter addressed to President of India Droupadi Murmu and urged her to support democratic principles.^[30]

Practical constraints and curtailments

Hate speech laws in India are regularly abused by political organisations and other influential people. Although these cases rarely result in a conviction, it is used as a form of intimidation which leads to wide spread self-censorship by the people. Apart from hate speech laws there are many other sections in the Indian Penal Code that curtails free speech. Books about history and religion are often targeted due to their very nature of promoting historical criticism.

The vague phrase "decency or morality" used in article 19(2) of the constitution has long enabled the state to engage in wide spread moral policing of mass media and the film and entertainment industry as religious groups often object to liberal ideas and deem all progressive values as indecent.

Freedom of speech and expression, which enable an individual to participate in public activities. The phrase, "freedom of press" has not been used in Article 19, though freedom activists, as well as most scholars and industrialised jurisdictions throughout the world recognise that freedom of expression includes freedom of press. Reasonable restrictions can be imposed in the interest of public order, security of State, decency or morality.

According to the estimates of Reporters Without Borders, India ranks 138th worldwide in press freedom index ( The press freedom index for India is 43.24 for 2018).^[31] The Indian Constitution, while not mentioning the word "press", provides for "the right to freedom of speech and expression" (Article 19(1) a). However this right is subject to restrictions under subclause (2), whereby this freedom can be restricted for reasons of "sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, preserving decency, preserving morality, in relation to contempt of court, defamation, or incitement to an offence". Laws such as the Official Secrets Act and Prevention of Terrorism Act^[32](POTA) have been used to limit press freedom. Under POTA, person could be detained for up to six months before the police were required to bring charges on allegations for terrorism-related offences. POTA was repealed in 2004, but was replaced by amendments to UAPA.^[33] The Official Secrets Act 1923 remains in effect.

For the first half-century of independence, media control by the state was the major constraint on press freedom. Indira Gandhi famously stated in 1975 that All India Radio is "a Government organ, it is going to remain a Government organ..."^[34][35] On 26 June 1975, the day after the so-called emergency was declared in violation of the natural rights of Indian citizens, the Mumbai edition of The Times of India in its obituary column carried an entry that read "D.E.M O'Cracy beloved husband of T.Ruth, father of L.I.Bertie, brother of Faith, Hope and Justica expired on 26 June".^[36] With the liberalisation starting in the 1990s, private control of media has increased, leading to increasing independence and greater scrutiny of government.

Organisations like Tehelka and NDTV have been particularly influential, e.g. in bringing about the resignation of powerful Haryana minister Venod Sharma. In addition, laws like Prasar Bharati act passed in recent years contribute significantly to reducing the control of the press by the government. In recent times, the Indian government has been accused of trying to curtail this freedom through various means.^[37][38]

Sedition

According to the English Law, sedition embraces all the practices whether by word or writing which are calculated to disturb the tranquillity of the State and lead an ignorant person to subvert the Government.^[39] Basic criticism of the government is not seen as sedition unless the Government believes that it was calculated to undermine the respect for the government in such a way so as to make people cease to obey it.^[40] Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code defines the offence of sedition as follows: "Sedition. 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 law in India, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine". But Explanation 3 says "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".^[41] In Kedar Nath v. State of Bihar (AIR 1962 SC 955), the court upheld the constitutional validity of the Section 124A of I.P.C and also upheld the view taken in Niharendu's case.

National security Act.[42] and Unlawful Activities Prevention act.[43]

National Security Act (NSA) introduced in 1980.^[44] Unlawful Activities Prevention Act where the conviction rate is 2% enacted in 1967.^[45]

The sedition laws have empowered the executive branch of the government to use the ambiguously defined provision as an instrument to regulate public opinion and indiscriminately wield power.^[46]

See also

Wikiquote has quotations related to Freedom of expression in India.

• Internet censorship in India
• Politics of India

References

Further reading

• Callamard, Dr. Agnes, Freedom of Speech and Offence: Why Blasphemy Laws Are not the Appropriate Response, (18 June 2006), www.google.com (as a pdf)
• Chopra, Chandmal, and Sita Ram Goel. 1987. The Calcutta Quran Petition. New Delhi: Voice of India.
• Cohen, Henry, C.R.S. Report for Congress: Freedom of Speech and Press: Exceptions to the First Amendment, (27 August 2003), www.google.com ( as a pdf ).
• Elst, Koenraad. 2014. Negationism in India: concealing the record of Islam. ISBN 978-8185990958
• Liang, Lawrence, Reasonable Restrictions and Unreasonable Speech, (2004), www.google.com ( as a pdf ).
• Pandey, J. N., Constitutional Law of India, 42nd ed. (2005), Central Law Agency, Allahabad.
• Singh, M. P., Constitution of India, 10th ed. (2001), Eastern Book Co., Lko.
• Arun Shourie, Ram Swarup, and Goel, Sita Ram. 1998. Freedom of expression: secular theocracy versus liberal democracy. ISBN 9351365921 ISBN 9789351365921
• Tiwari, Dr. Mahendra, Freedom of press in India: Constitutional Perspectives, (2006), www.supremecourtcases.com.
• Rajak, Brajesh, Pornography Law; XXX Must not be Tolerated, (2011) Universal Law Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi.