There is no doubt that the importance of the press is well established under Indian Law. The freedom of the press is a requirement in any democratic society for its effective functioning. The first case which dealt with the freedom of the press can be traced back to Channing Arnold v. The Emperor, (1914) 16 Bom LR 544, wherein the Privy Council stated that:
“36. 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 the statute law 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.”
During the drafting of our Constitution, B. N. Rau, while commenting on the amendments by Jaya Prakash Narayan, who had proposed a separate freedom of press, had commented in the following manner:
“It is hardly necessary to provide specifically for the freedom of the press as freedom of expression provided in subclause (a) of clause (1) of article 13 will include freedom of the press…”
Thereafter, many judgments of this Court including Bennett Coleman v. Union of India, (1972) 2 SCC 788, Indian Express (supra), Sakal Papers (P) Ltd. v. Union of India, [1962] 3 SCR 842 have expounded on the right of freedom of press and have clearly enunciated the importance of the aforesaid rights in modern society. In view of the same, there is no doubt that freedom of the press needs to be considered herein while dealing with the issue of the case at hand.
Anuradha Bhasin vs Union Of India on 10 January, 2020
