Grave threat to freedom of the press

The Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023, which was passed by parliament last week, is yet another legislative measure intended to curb the freedom of the press, particularly the print media. It replaces the antiquated Press and Registration of Books, 1867, which was a colonial law intended to tame whatever media was there in the country after the 1857 revolt.

The colonial law needed to be overhauled or even jettisoned as its provisions were anachronistic in a democratic society. But what has now been passed is the old bill in new legal clothing, which is even more dangerous than the one it replaced.

The bill has done well to exempt scientific and academic journals from its purview and to simplify the registration process of publications. It has also decriminalised the filing of improper information. But it is as much a draconian law as its predecessor, and its provisions have been weaponised for use against news publications in deadly fashion. 

The main problem with the bill is that the Registrar General (RG), who is the regulator, will be appointed by the government and will have excessive powers to control the publishing sector.

The RG will have the power to deny or withhold permission or cancel the certificate of registration for any owner or publisher convicted for being involved in “terrorist or unlawful activity” or for “having done anything against the security of the State”. 

The offences follow the definitions in the draconian Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), as interpreted by the authorities. If the RG thinks any publication questioned the sovereignty and integrity of India, its registration can be cancelled and the owner or publisher or other associates can be hauled up, with the prospect of jail without bail. Just as the PMLA is freely used against critics and dissenters, journalists and publishers can be proceeded against under the new press law whenever the government feels like. 

The law also empowers the RG to enter premises to verify registration and to appoint officials to monitor a publication's functioning. The person thus appointed need only be a “gazetted officer”. That can be an official from the police or similar departments, and its impact on the functioning of publications may be imagined. The bill gives the government the right to frame rules for news publishing which align with the government’s “fact-checking unit’’ arrangement under the controversial Information Technology Rules of 2021.

These rules give the government wide powers to take down online content. The Editors Guild and other media organisations have expressed serious concern over the provisions of the bill. In its present form, it is a handbook of censorship and a serious threat to the freedom of the press and to freedom of speech and expression in general.