Freedom of Press: Institutional as well as Individualistic Feature.

(The Roadmap
towards Journalism of Truth)

Abstract-

The freedom to express is concomitant right in any democratic set up which wishes to grow
and prosper as an empowered nation. India being the largest democracy of the world is duty
bound under its constitutional scheme to protect freedom of speech and expression.

However, it is argued that freedom of speech and expression as guaranteed under Article
19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India cannot be construed simply as a negative right because
the duty of the state must not only be limited to allow its citizens to freely express their views
and opinions and protect from any kind of threat rather must also be to create an environment
under which the citizens feel empowered to voice their thoughts into action which may
appear to be reality based on the future debates and deliberations.

The vision of the constitutional makers was to break the shackles of British empire which had
caged the intellectual views as well as public opinions and aspirations through draconian laws
and merciless state’s action. The constituent assembly as a whole was of the firm belief that
to make the government accountable the continuous questions from the citizens was
necessary.

It is submitted that even though the constitution did not expressly acknowledge the freedom
of press under Article 19(1)(a), it is well imbibed under the individual right. Further it is
argued that Press is not considered as an institution which raises the concerns and opinions of
the citizens rather is a platform through which an individual is able to express. Therefore, it
would be a very narrow reading of the Article 19(1)(a) if there is a distinction between press
and individual in the context of freedom of speech and expression.

Lastly it is stated that idea of press in India is not to create institutions to fight or quarrel with
the government based on the ideology of the few powerful person controlling the media
houses rather allow the individual to be associated with the institutions in the field of press to
effectively exercise freedom of speech and expression.
Brief History and Development of Freedom of Press in India ( Historical Perspective
and Analysis of Judicial Pronouncements)

The freedom of press and its development in India is as dynamic as the nature of journalism.
Each incident reported by media and every response to such reporting counts and
development. It is through immense hardship and spirit of liberty of our forefathers that India
is able to have fearless and loud press in India which aspires to strengthen the democracy by
each passing day.

During pre-independence era there was fewer laws to protect the freedom of press, rather it
would be appropriate to say that there were more laws to tranquilize the effectiveness of free
press in India during British regime. The very first regulation in realm of press in India dates
back to 1799 which was solely meant to suppress the freedom of press as it introduced pre-
censorship along with other set of restrictions before any newspaper could be published. Even
at later stage in the year 1823 when Press Ordinance was passed it introduced licensing
system under which all matters supposed to be published (other than commercial matters)
required license from the Governor General. Further, the ordinance was replaced by Press
Act of 1935 under which declaration of the location of publication house was made
mandatory. It must also be noted that most of the press houses were owned by Englishmen
baring a few like Bengal Gazette owned by Shri Gangadhar Bhattacharjee and Brahmanical
Magazine founded by Shri Raja Ram Mohan Roy. Under such circumstances the freedom of
press in India was like a dream of a unicorn.

The phase from when freedom of press gained momentum can be traced back to post
independence era when Constitution of India came into force and Article 19 (1) (a) was made
enforceable. The Indian Judiciary appeared to be highly vocal about free and independent
India and the intentions to this effect was made clear by Hon’ble Supreme Court in the year
1950 itself when it held that freedom of press is within the scope and ambit of Article 19(1)
(a) which deals with freedom of speech and expression by the citizens. 1 This decision of the
court meant that freedom of press could not be curtailed until and unless it is under
reasonable restriction mentioned under Article 19 (2). It would be appropriate to say that it is
through judicial decisions that freedom of press has been given birth which was impregnated
under Indian Constitution.

1
Ramesh Thaper v. State of M.P AIR 1950 SC 124
One of the historic instances wherein freedom of press was upheld refers to Supreme Court’s
decision in the case of Sakal Papers v. Union of India2. In the instant case Daily Newspapers
(Price and Page) Order 1960 was challenged to be violative of Article 19 (1) (a) of the
Constitution of India as the government had fixed the maximum number of pages that could
be published by a newspaper according to the price charged and had also prescribed the
maximum number of supplements that could be issued. The Supreme Court vehemently ruled
that such provision is violative of the Constitution of India and under no circumstances falls
within reasonable restrictions.

These two judgements are considered to be highly celebrated as it symbolizes India’s faith
and commitment towards having a free press which acts like a mirror to all the three pillars of
state i.e., Legislature, Executive and the Judiciary.

Role of Media Houses vis a vis Roles of Individual Journalists

The basic nature of humans involves the theory of being influenced and thus it makes us
question whether media individuals or journalists are influenced by any of the factors of
social influencers involving the public and the in-house media influencers.

According to research conducted by the Carlos III University, of Madrid, Spain, it is

suggested that private or commercial news organizations journalists are less prone to internal
editorial influences in comparison to those working for public news channels/organizations.3
The factors of being influenced could vary depending on the nature of the journalist and the
type of news/media covered by him/her but on a general notion, journalists having temporary
positions suffer higher internal editorial influences than the ones who are permanently
employed. Another factor could also involve gender since it involves the ease of
persuasiveness. Researchers suggest that female journalists with higher autonomy are less
prone to internal and external influences.4

Influences on the journalist have also been impacted by the commercialization of the news
business, which has ultimately undermined the traditional aspect of being a journalist which
required them to have a robust protective shell around them for their protection against any
influences – be it inside or outside. Various incidents have become the epitome of attacks on
freedom of the Press in various democracies where the common segments of the population
2
AIR 1962 SC 305
3
file:///C:/Users/ALINA/Downloads/13727-45011-1-PB.pdf
4
Ibid
have absolutely stopped receiving bias-free news and worldwide information. According to
the RSK Index 2022, India’s Global Press Freedom Ranking is now 150th, as compared to
142nd last year. Looking at Press Freedom’s history in India, it was an original product of the
anti-colonial movement and it was perceived and anticipated to be fairly progressive. 5 Indian
Freedom of the Press was provided through provisions for the journalists and the media in the
Indian Constitution keeping in mind their significance which is aptly highlighted in points
like the free exchange of ideas and becoming the voice of the people along with being
prognosticated as the fourth pillar of Indian democracy.

The aforementioned facts suggest that a robust and bolstered Indian Media and Press is the
need of the hour and it also makes us question whether even after various provisions in the
Indian Constitution about the Freedom of the Press and of practicing journalists, is it being
followed with the same spirit – or is it diluted due to incapability of the journalists to
withstand inner and outer influences and they fail to deliver an intellectual and fair judgment
to the population?

Compliance with the legal as well as the regulatory parameter and guidelines along with the
ethical responsibilities of the media houses often lead to easy exploitation of the journalists
since the media houses violate the Freedom of Speech and Expression of the Reporters and
the Journalists under Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution in the name of giving
employment. Under the garb of employment, the journalists are left with no option but to
surrender to various unfair and violated practices practiced by the Media Houses. In the name
of the prevention of misinformation, the content is over-regulated by the Media Houses
which gives them the open platform to mould it in a way that would get them maximum
profits.

In a similar fashion, the Pakistan Government also introduced the Bill of ‘Protection of
Journalists and Media Professionals Act, 2021’ which mainly aimed at providing defence
apparatus for journalists and media enthusiasts. The dire need of formulating a bill for the
protection of journalists which has become the need of the hour is suggestive of the
condescending nature of Media Houses, their ever-growing exploitation of the journalists
under them, and the need of putting restrictions on imposing censorship on journalism
content. Sections like Section 6 of the Bill propose the prohibition of Journalists from
5
https://thewire.in/media/indias-2022-ranking-in-press-freedom-falls-to-150-from-142
“spreading false information”, and encourage the production of material that “advocates
hatred”, or constitutes “incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence”. 6 On the other
hand, Section 12 suggests the formulation of a commission specifically for the protection of
media workers.7

Media Restrictions: Handcuffs for Journalists – Incidents of Journalism Repression

Indian authorities have been suspected of using spyware produced by Israel, named ‘Pegasus’
for targeting journalists. Numerous instances of internet shutdowns and restricting the
freedoms of Indian Media and Press propounds the hindrances deliberately produced by the
government and the authorities to hamper the ability of journalists to do their work, which
also includes accessing and disseminating the data online.8 According to various reports, in
April 2022, a minimum of 5 journalists were attacked in Delhi covering an event organized
by Hindu Nationalist Groups. The incident of Siddique Kappan, a Muslim journalist, who has
been imprisoned since October 2022 as Uttar Pradesh police arrested him for baseless
grounds of terrorism, sedition, and promoting enmity between groups, among others.9 The
introduction of the new Information Technology Rules, 2021 is also incongruent with the
provisions of Freedom of Speech and Expression of Media under Article 19 and the Right to
Privacy under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution since it empowers the government to
constrain online content to be removed without adequate judicial intervention.

Conclusion
India is the largest democracy in the world and it should profess itself as one too apart from
depiction. Media and its importance in a democratic society cannot be stressed enough since
the dissemination of adequate and authentic information is a necessity. Journalists are citizens
of the country too and thus, they should not be under any life-threat pressure for practicing
their profession and they do not have to risk their lives and ultimately their freedom for work.

6
https://samsn.ifj.org/SAPFR21-22/
7
https://www.ifj.org/media-centre/news/detail/category/press-releases/article/pakistan-senate-passes-bill-
to-protect-journalists-and-media-professionals.html
8
https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/05/03/india-media-freedom-under-threat
9
Ibid