Prefix Censorship, Freedom of Speech and Expression, The Constitution of India
This article is written by Anand P D, final year law student at Al Azhar Law college, Thodupuzha. The article deals with ‘Freedom of Speech and Censorship’. Every citizen of India enjoys the rights of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution of India. Expressing one’s opinions or views through speech is the right of each individual. It is an amalgamation of the right to freedom of conscience. Censorship on the other hand is the process of imposing checks direct or indirect, governmental or otherwise on the exercise of one’s right to free speech.
INTRODUCTION
Free speech is one of the constitutional guarantees of liberal democracy, a right recognized by all international human rights documents. It is an amalgamation of the right to freedom of conscience. Censorship on the other hand is the process of imposing checks direct or indirect, governmental or otherwise on the exercise of one’s right to free speech. This phenomenon can be perceived as an unnecessary curb on one’s basic right to liberty, but on a closer examination, it can be looked at in the form of a necessary evil, a limitation on one’s human rights to uphold the community’s human rights. The broad social purpose of censorship can be laid down as removed to ensure that ordinary members of the community are not affronted by the display of material to which a majority of reasonable adults would object, to a level of public decency, and to avoid the undesirable social effects which may flow from the normalization, by its use in entertainment or other dissemination, off undesirable material.
Right to Freedom of Expression and Opinion
Article 19 (1) (a) of the Indian Constitution states that every citizen has the right to freedom of expression and opinion. Freedom of expression and opinion means the right to freely express one’s beliefs and opinions through speech, writing, print, and photography. Thus, it includes the expression of one’s thoughts through a communication medium or visual expression such as gestures, signs, etc.
This term also means publication, so freedom of the press falls into this category.
Freedom of the Press
The free flow of ideas is an important goal and can be achieved through platforms or the press. The dissemination of this idea is ensured by the freedom of radio and broadcasting. Freedom to distribute and broadcast is just as important as the freedom to publish self-fulfillment-earning less without distribution.
Freedom of expression and opinion includes freedom to express one’s opinion. This includes: right to distribute, publish or transmit the opinions of others. Otherwise, this freedom does not include freedom of speech. Freedom of expression is the lifeblood of any democratic institution, and any attempt to retain, deprive or obstruct this right will be a death signal for democracy and help build a dictatorship or dictatorship. The modern communication environment contributes to the public good by keeping the public informed about events and events and educating voters, which play an important role in the functioning of democracy. Consequently, in a democratic environment like ours, the dissemination of news and opinion about mass consumption is mandatory, and any attempt to refute this must be rejected, except in violation of Article 19 (2) of the Constitution.
Reasonable Restriction under Article 19 (2)
A person as a rational being wants to do many things, but in bourgeois society, his desires must be controlled, regulated, and coordinated with the realization of similar desires by other people. Thus, the Constitution limits the guarantees of the aforementioned rights in the interests of the wider community. The right to freedom of expression is restricted under Article 19 (2). Public order was added to the 1951 Constitution (First Amendment) and became mandatory. In the current context, public order is synonymous with public peace, safety, and serenity.
Justifications for Freedom of Speech
Freedom of speech offers the soul to express his feelings to others, but this is often not the sole reason; the purpose is to shield the liberty of speech. There might be more reasons to safeguard these essential liberties. There are four important justifications for freedom of speech –
- For the invention of truth by open discussion –
Consistent with it, if restrictions on speech are tolerated, society prevents the ascertainment and publication of accurate facts and valuable opinions. That’s to mention, it assists within the discovery of truth.
- Free speech as a side of self-fulfillment and development –
Freedom of speech is an integral aspect of every individual’s right to self-development and self-fulfillment. Restriction on what we are allowed to mention and write or to listen to and skim will hamper our personality and its growth. It helps a person to realize self-fulfillment.
- For expressing belief and political attitudes –
Freedom of speech provides an opportunity to precise one’s belief and show political attitudes. It ultimately leads to the welfare of the society and state. Thus, freedom of speech provides a mechanism by which it’d be possible to determine an inexpensive balance between stability and social change.
- For active participation in democracy –
Democracy is the most significant feature of today’s world. Freedom of speech is there to safeguard the proper of all citizens to know political issues so they’ll participate in the smooth working of democracy. That’s to mention, freedom of speech strengthens the capacity of a private in participating in decision-making.
Restrictions on the Liberty of Speech and Expression
It is necessary to keep up and preserve freedom of speech and expression during a democracy, so also it’s necessary to place some restrictions on this freedom for the upkeep of social order, because no freedom may be absolute or completely unrestricted. Accordingly, under Article 19 (2) of the Constitution of India, the State may make a law imposing “reasonable restrictions” on the exercise of the correct to freedom of speech and expression “in the interest of” the general public on the subsequent grounds: Clause (2) of Article 19 of Indian constitution contains the grounds on which restrictions on the liberty of speech and expression may be imposed:-
- State Security –
Concerning Article 19 (2), when it comes to the security of the state, the freedom of speech and expression can be restricted. ‘Security of State’ means war against the State, rebellion, insurrection excluding any riot and unlawful assembly. This concludes that when it comes to the safety of our nation then freedom of speech and expression can be restricted.
- Incitement to an offense –
Through the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951, this provision was added. The right to incite people to commit offenses cannot be protected by Freedom of speech and expression.
- Friendly relations with foreign states –
This criterion was added by the First Amendment itself in 1951. This was added so that people cannot misuse their right to freedom of speech and expression which may hinder the country’s relation with other foreign states.
- Public order –
Public order is not just the maintenance of law and order, it is much more than that. Civil peace, security, and tranquillity are synonymous with public order. The test for certifying whether the act is up to the standards of public order is by monitoring whether the act is hampering the current life which the society has established or if it disturbs merely an individual then its not disturbing public order.
- Contempt of court –
Contempt of court is basically when you insult or degrade the order of the court except when you analyze the judgment passed by the court. There are two types of contempt: civil contempt and criminal contempt as mentioned in Section 2.
- Decency or morality –
From Section 292 to 294 of the Indian Penal Code, many restrictions have been laid down in the name of decency and morality. The words decency and morality have a bigger scope in terms of their meaning. These words have a particular standard that prevents the spread of obscene and questionable content
- Defamation –
Defamation is basically when a person’s reputation comes to a stake or is triggered, which leads to defamation. It can be in written or oral form.
Romesh Thappar v. the State of Madras, (1950 SCR 594, 607; AIR 1950 SC 124), was amongst the earliest cases to be decided by the Supreme Court declaring the freedom of the press as a part of freedom of speech and expression. Patanjali Sastri, J., rightly observed that-‘Freedom of Speech and Press lay at the foundation of all democratic organizations, for without free political discussion, no public education, so essential for the proper functioning of the process of Government, is possible’.
Indian Express v. Union of India, (1985) 1 SCC 641, it has been held that the Press plays a very significant role in the democratic machinery. The courts must uphold the freedom of the press and invalidate all laws and administrative actions that abridge that freedom.
Brij Bhushan v. the State of Delhi, (AIR 1950 SC 129), the validity of order imposing pre-censorship on an English Weekly of Delhi, which directed the editor and publisher of a newspaper to submit for scrutiny, in duplicate, before the publication, 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, was struck down by the court.
Tata Press Ltd. Vs. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd., ([1995] INSC 358), the Supreme Court held that a commercial advertisement or commercial speech was also a part of the freedom of speech and expression, which would be restricted only within the limits of Article 19(2). The Supreme Court held that advertising, which is no more than a commercial transaction, is nonetheless dissemination of information regarding the product advertised. The public at large is benefited by the information made available through the advertisements. In a democratic economy, the free flow of commercial information is indispensable.
Odyssey Communications (P) Ltd .v. Lokvidayan Sanghatana, ([1988] INSC 178), the Supreme Court held that the right of a citizen to exhibit films on the State channel – Doordarshan is part of the fundamental right guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a). In this case, the petitioners challenged the exhibition on Doordarshan of a serial titled “Honi Anhoni” on the ground that it encouraged superstitious and blind faith amongst viewers. The petition was dismissed as the petitioner failed to show evidence of prejudice to the public.
Maneka Gandhi vs Union of India, (1978 AIR 597, 1978 SCR (2) 621), the Supreme Court considered whether Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution was confined to Indian territory and held that the freedom of speech and expression is not confined to national boundaries.
CONCLUSION
Every citizen of India enjoys the rights of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution of India. Expressing one’s opinions or views through speech is the right of each individual. It’s not limited to only expressing one’s views through words but a person incorporates a right to circulate those views or opinions in writing, through advertisements or audio-visuals. The right to freedom of speech and expression also comprises the right to information, right to press, right to broadcast, right to commercial speech. Reasonable restrictions may be imposed on the proper freedom of speech and expression under Article 19 (2) of the Indian Constitution. The rights granted under Article 19 aren’t absolute rights. They’ll be restricted just in case of national security and within the interest of society.
