Theme: Media

What is the Punishment for Printing/Selling Defamatory Material?

If you print or engrave something you know is defamatory to a person’s reputation, the court can punish you with jail time of up to 2 years and/or with a fine. Generally, newspapers are prosecuted under this provision.

The court can punish you for selling or trying to sell printed or engraved defamatory material with jail time of up to 2 years and/or with a fine.

Censorship of TV Content

A different set of laws deal with censorship on TV. The Government can:

  • censor channels or even entire cable operators like Star TV as a whole.
  • block any content which may cause hatred between groups or public unrest.
  • block content if it violates the code followed by all channels.

They have a broadly worded set of conditions. The content should not offend good taste or decency, encourage superstition or be derogatory to women.

Are Reviews/Critiques Excluded from Defamation?

Yes, if the review or critique of any public material or performance was made in good faith, then it is not considered an act of defamation. For example, if the author of the material has given permission for it to be reviewed by the public, then anyone making a statement against the same will not be held liable for defamation.

However, while a review or critique of a public material or performance was made in good faith is fine, a personal criticism about the creator that can insult their reputation can still be defamation. For example, it may be okay for you to critique Rushdie’s latest novel as ‘boring and dull’, but you can be punished for saying that “Only a boring and dull novel can be expected out of a nincompoop like Rushdie”.

Censorship on the Internet

Censorship on the internet can be done in two ways:

  1. The Government can block any content that it considers either a threat to national security. It can even block content which can disrupt public order or which would encourage people to commit a crime. When the Government blocks online content, they follow a procedure under the law.
  2. Internet service providers and social media platforms have a responsibility to remove any “illegal content”. Illegal content is anything that is grossly harmful, harassing or blasphemous. They have to remove it if they get an order from a Court.

Youtube, Hotstar, Netflix etc sometimes show uncensored films. The Censor Board said that they will demand that all applicants (filmmakers) cannot release censored portions of their films anywhere on the internet. The Cinematograph Act would not directly apply here.