FREEDOM OF PRESS

SUBMITTED BY
ASHUTOSH SINGH(2218)

BBA LLB 1ST YEAR

SUBMITTED TO

MR. VIJYANT SINHA

FACULTY OF LEGAL METHOD AND RESEARCH MYTHODOLOGY

1
Table of Contents

DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE................................................................... 4

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT............................................................................................. 5

1. Introduction................................................................................................................ 6

1.1 Aims & Objective of the Study................................................................................ 7

1.2 Hypothesis................................................................................................................ 7

1.3 Research Methodology............................................................................................. 8

1.4 Sources of Data Collection........................................................................................ 8

1.4.1 Primary Sources...................................................................................................... 8

1.4.2 Secondary Sources.................................................................................................. 8

1.5 Limitation of the Study.............................................................................................. 8

1.6 Scope of Study........................................................................................................... 8

2
 DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE

I, hereby, declare that the work reported in the BBA LLB (Hons.) Project Report entitled
“FREEDOM OF PRESS ” submitted at CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY
PATNA is an authentic record of our work carried out under the supervision of MR. VIJYANT
SINHA . I have not submitted this work elsewhere for any other degree or diploma. I am fully
responsible for the contents of my Project Report.

(Signature of the Candidate)

ASHUTOSH SINGH(2218)

BBA LLB, 1st year

SEMESTER -1st

CNLU, Patna

Dated:

3
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to show my gratitude towards my guide Mr Vijyant Sinha ,Faculty of Legal
method and Research Methodology , under whose guidance, I structured my project. I owe
the present accomplishment of my project to my CNLU librarians, who helped me
immensely with materials throughout the project and without whom I couldn’t have
completed it in the present way.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to my friends and all those unseen hands that helped
us out at every stage of my project.

THANK YOU,

ASHUTOSH SINGH(2218)

SEM.–1ST

CNLU, PATNA

-4-
1. INTRODUCTION

The belief that expressions and communiques 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.

To preserve the democratic way of life it is essential that people should have the freedom of express their feelings
and to make their views known to the people at large. The press, a powerful medium of mass communication,
should be free to play its role in building a strong viable society. Denial of freedom of the press to citizens would
necessarily undermine the power to influence public opinion and be counter to democracy.

Freedom of press is not specifically mentioned in article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution and what is mentioned there
is only freedom of speech and expression. In the Constituent Assembly Debates it was made clear by
Dr.Ambedkar, Chairman of the Drafting Committee, that no special mention of the freedom of press was
necessary at all as the press and an an individual or a citizen were the same as far as their right of expression was
concerned.

The framers of the Indian constitution considered freedom of the press as an essential part of the freedom of
speech and expression as guaranteed in Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution.

In Romesh Thaper vs State of Madras1 and Brij Bhushan vs State of Delhi2, the Supreme Court took it for
granted the fact that the freedom of the press was an essential part of the right to freedom of speech and
expression. It was observed by Patanjali Sastri J. in Romesh Thaper that freedom of speech and expression
included propagation of ideas, and that freedom was ensured by the freedom of circulation.

It is clear that the right to freedom of speech and expression carries with it the right to publish and circulate one’s
ideast, opinions and other views with complete freedom and by resorting to all available means of publication.
The right to freedom of the press includes the right to propagate ideas and views and to publish and circulate them.

1
2

5
However, the freedom of the press is not absolute, just as the freedom of expression is not.

Public Interest has to be safeguard by article 19(1)(2) which lays down reasonable limitations to the freedom of
expression in matters affecting:
a Sovereignty and integrity of the State
b. Security of the State
c. Friendly relations with foreign countries
d. Public order
e. Decency and morality
f. Contempt of court
g. Incitement to an offence
h. Defamation

Freedom of press is an absence of statutory and administrative control on dissemination of information, ideas,
knowledge and thoughts.

The freedom of the press and of expression is guarded by the First Amendment to the US Constitution which
specifically lays down that this freedom be in no way abridge by the laws. It is not Indian Leaders were not aware
of the US First Amendment or of Jefferson’s famous declaration when he said that “Were it left me to decide
whether we should have a government without newspaper or newspapers without a government, I should not
hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” Jawahar Lal Nehru echoed similar views “I would rather have a
completely free press, with all the dangers involved in the wrong use of that freedom, than a suppressed or
regulated press.” Voltair once said, “I do not agree with a word you say but I defend to death your right to say it.”

Mrs. Gandhi has never had much faith in the press. Her misgivings about the press wee first expressed in her
address to the International Press Institute Assembly in New Delhi on November 15, 1966, when she blamed the
press for for giving wide publicity to student unrest in the country. She said, “How much liberty should the press
have in country like India which is engaged in fighting a war against poverty, backwardness, superstition and
ignorance.” Mrs. Gandhi would not suggest restrictions that might be imposed on the press but said that it was for
the leading editions, and journalists of the country to decide. Nine years later when Mrs. Gandhi declared
emergency action was taken against the press immediately and complete censorship was imposed.

6
 Kuldip Nayar, a veteran journalist wrote to Mrs. Gandhi soon after she imposed the emergency, “if newspaper
have criticized the government, it is largely because of its sluggish administration, slow progress in the economy
field and the gap between promise and performance. My concept of a free press is to ferret out the truth and let
the public know.”

To preserve the democratic way of life, it is essential that people should have the freedom to express their feelings
to make their views known to the people at large. The press, a powerful media of mass communication should be
free to play its role in building a strong viable society. Denial of the freedom of press to citizens would
necessarily undermine the power to influence public opinion.

Besides the restrictions imposed on the press by the Constitution, there exists various other laws which further
curtail press freedom and the right of the citizen to information as well as the right to freedom of speech and
expression. They are all in force in the interest of public order of the sovereignty and security of the state.

Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the principle that communication and expression through various
media, including printed and electronic media, especially published material, should be considered a right to be
exercised freely. Such freedom implies the absence of interference from an overreaching state ; its preservation may
be sought through constitutional or other legal protections.

With respect to governmental information, any government may distinguish which materials are public or protected
from disclosure to the public. State materials are protected due to either of two reasons: the classification of
information as sensitive, classified or secret, or the relevance of the information to protecting the national interest..
Many governments are also subject to sunshine laws or freedom of information legislation that are used to define the
ambit of national interest.

The united nations 1948 Universal declaration of human right states: "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 regardless of frontiers".[1]

This philosophy is usually accompanied by legislation ensuring various degrees of freedom of scientific
research (known as scientific freedom ), publishing, and press. The depth to which these laws are entrenched in a
country's legal system can go as far down as its constitution. The concept of freedom of speech is often covered by
the same laws as freedom of the press, thereby giving equal treatment to spoken and published

7
expression. Sweden was the first country in the world to adopt freedom of the press into its constitution with the
Freedom of the Press Act of 1766.

Freedom of the press (or press freedom) is the guarantee by a government of free public press for its citizens and
their associations, extended to members of news gathering organizations, and their published reporting. It also
extends to news gathering and processes involved in obtaining information for public distribution. Not all countries
are protected by a bill of rights or the constitutional provision pertaining to Freedom of the Press.

With respect to governmental information, a government distinguishes which materials are public and which are
protected from disclosure to the public based on classification of information as sensitive, classified, or secret and
being otherwise protected from disclosure due to relevance of the information to protecting the national interest.
Many governments are also subject to sunshine laws or freedom of information legislation that are used to define the
ambit of national interest.

Freedom of the press, like freedom of speech, is not absolute; some limitations are always present both in principle
and in practice. The press exercises enormous power and influence over society, and has commensurate
responsibility. Journalists have access to more information than the average individual, thus the press has become the
eyes, ears, and voice of the public. In this sense it has been suggested that the press functions as the "Fourth Estate,"
an important force in the democratic system of check and balances . Thus, freedom of the press is seen as an advance
in achieving human rights for all, and contributing to the development of a world of peace and prosperity for all. The
caveat is that those who work in the media are themselves in need of ethical guidelines to ensure that this freedom is
not abused.

Basic principles and criteria

In developed countries, freedom of the press implies that all people should have the right to express themselves
in writing or in any other way of expression of personal opinion or creativity. The Universal declaration of Human
Rights adopted December 10, 1948, states: "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 regardless of frontiers." The concept of freedom of speech is often covered by the same laws as
freedom of the press, thereby giving equal treatment to media and individuals.

There are a number of non governmental organization that judge the level of press freedom around the world
according to various criteria. Reporters Without Borders considers the number of journalists murdered, expelled, or
harassed, and the existence of a state monopoly on televisin and radio , as well as the existence of censorship and
self-censorship in the media, and the overall independence of media as well as the difficulties that foreign reporters

8
may face. Freedom House likewise studies the more general political and economic environments of each nation in
order to determine whether relationships of dependence exist that limit in practice the level of press freedom that
might exist in theory.

Coming with these press freedoms is a sense of responsibility. People look to the media as a bulwark against tyranny,
corruption, and other ill forces within the public sphere. The media can be seen as the public's voice of reason to
counter the powerful mechanisms of government and business. The responsibilities of the press also include an
untiring adherence to the truth. Part of what makes the press so important is its potential for disseminating
information, which if false can have hugely detrimental impacts on society. For this reason, the press is counted on to
uphold ideals of dogged fact checking and some sense of decency, rather than publishing lurid, half-true stories.

The media as a necessity for the government

The notion of the press as the fourth branch of government is sometimes used to compare the press (or media) with Montesquieu's
three branches of government, namely an addition to the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary branches. Edmund Burke is
quoted to have said: "Three Estates in Parliament; but in the Reporters' Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth estate more important far
than they all."
The development of the Western media tradition is rather parallel to the development of democracy in Europe and the United States.
On the ideological level, the first advocates of freedom of the press were the liberal thinkers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
They developed their ideas in opposition to the monarchist tradition in general and the divine right of kings in particular. These liberal
theorists argued that freedom of press was a right claimed by the individual and grounded in natural law. Thus, freedom of the press
was an integral part of the individual rights promoted by liberal ideology.

Freedom of the press was (and still is) assumed by many to be a necessity to any democratic
society. Other lines of thought later argued in favor of freedom of the press without relying
on the controversial issue of natural law; for instance, freedom of expression began to be
regarded as an essential component of the social contract (the agreement between a state and
its people regarding the rights and duties that each should have to the other).

9
 1.1 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

1. The objective of the study is to understand what is the concept of freedom of press.
2. To study the importance of freedom of press in a country.
3. The role which freedom of press has played in a democracy.
4. To study basic provisions regarding freedom of press.
5. How it is practiced in non democratic countries.

1.2 HYPOTHESIS

The researcher believes that freedom of press is an important weapon which is vested in the
Fourth pillar of democracy and it should always remain free from any kind of pressure from
government or any other entities.
The researcher believes that freedom of press is visible in democratic countries but it
should also commence its work in non democratic countries where attack and imprisonment of
journalist and reporters are common.

1.3 RESEARCH MYTHODOLOGY

The researcher will do doctrinal type of research in which he will go through the primary as well secondary
sources.

The researcher through this methodology will be able to get an exact picture of the project.
To satisfy the need of the project, the researcher will go through section by section and clause by clause of each
section in question.
Then, the researcher will cross check the commentary of those provisions.
This methodology will be the most effective way in preparing the project.
The doctrinal method helps in doing a comparative study of the topic. This methodology helps in going through
not only the work of one eminent person but of many other too.

10
 This helps in getting the bird’s eye view of the subject.

 SOURCES OF DATA COLLECTION

1.4.1 Primary Sources

judgements and cases
1.4.2 Secondary Sources
1. journals
2. magazines
3. Books

 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Since the researcher is a student of law, he has limited access area. The researcher has to read the various articles ,
books, websites .It would have been clearer had it been some readings through more journal, e-resources and
books. The researcher has limited his research as he has to undergo through unavoidable academic activity and
prepare for his mid-semester exams. As the researcher is also new to library he has doubts regarding books of the
particular topic. The researcher has limited resource regarding the field work to finalize the project. Being an
academician he had very less time to interact with the people and collect the sampling. But still with his
hard work the researcher has managed to complete his project.

 SCOPE OF STUDY

The research if seen from a broader point of view will help in understanding why freedom is given to press?

It will help us in understanding the condition of press in different countries and how is government affecting the

role and is indirectly controlling media and press.

It will help us in understanding why is it important for the fourth pillar of democracy that is media and press to be

free and be transparent in its functioning.

11
10