The media as the fourth pillar: press freedom and regulation

Detail

1. Why the media is called the "fourth pillar"

• Fourth pillar of democracy: after the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, the media is the fourth support of a democracy.
• It keeps people informed.
• It acts as the voice of the masses.

• It raises public issues and makes the government answer for them (Class 9, Democracy).

• The media is part of civil society, the space between the family and the state where people organise freely. It carries the demands of pressure groups, NGOs and movements to the public and to the state.

2. Press freedom in the Constitution

• No separate "press freedom" article: the Constitution has no clause that names the press. The courts read press freedom into Art. 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech and expression for all citizens).
• Reasonable restrictions under Art. 19(2): the state may limit this freedom only by law and only on eight grounds:
• sovereignty and integrity of India, and security of the State;
• friendly relations with foreign States, and public order;
• decency or morality, and contempt of court;
• defamation, and incitement to an offence.

• The 1st Amendment (1951) added "public order", "friendly relations" and "incitement" after Romesh Thappar. The 16th Amendment (1963) added "sovereignty and integrity of India".

• Landmark cases

Case (year)	What the court held
Romesh Thappar v. State of Madras (1950)	Freedom to circulate a journal is part of free speech. A ban on the entry of the journal Cross Roads was struck down.
Sakal Papers v. Union of India (1962)	The state cannot fix the number of pages or the price of a newspaper to cut its circulation.
Bennett Coleman v. Union of India (1973)	A newsprint policy that limited pages broke Art. 19(1)(a).
Indian Express Newspapers v. Union of India (1985)	Too high a tax or duty on newsprint can be challenged, because it chokes the press. The press is at the heart of democracy.
Secretary, Ministry of I&B v. Cricket Association of Bengal (1995)	Airwaves are public property. Their use must be regulated in the public interest, not held as a monopoly by the government.
Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (2015)	Struck down s.66A of the IT Act (vague "offensive message" offence). Upheld s.69A blocking, with safeguards.

• During the Emergency (1975–77) the press was censored (see emergency-1975). The full fundamental-rights framework is in fundamental-rights.

3. Challenges facing the media

• Fake news and misinformation: false or misleading posts spread fast on social media (Class 9, Democracy, "Let's Explore" exercise).
• Paid news: money is paid for "news" that is really advertising, often during elections (see electoral-reforms).
• Trial by media: the media declares someone guilty before the court decides. This hurts the right to a fair trial. The Law Commission's 200th Report (2006) looked at this.
• Concentrated ownership: a few companies control a lot of media, including cross-media holdings (owning newspapers, TV and digital outlets at once). TRAI's 2014 recommendations suggested limits.
• TRP manipulation: ratings (Television Rating Points) are rigged to attract advertisers.
• Safety of journalists: attacks, threats and cases filed against reporters.
• India's rank in the World Press Freedom Index is covered in democracy-forms-outcomes.

4. Print media regulation

Press Council of India (PCI)

• History
• The First Press Commission (1952–54) recommended a council → Press Council Act 1965 → PCI set up in 1966.
• It was abolished in 1976, during the Emergency.

• It was re-established under the Press Council Act 1978.

• Composition: a chairperson, by convention a retired Supreme Court judge, and 28 members.

• Nature: quasi-judicial (a body that is not a court but holds court-like inquiries). It has the powers of a civil court to summon people and call for documents.
• Power to censure (s.14): if a newspaper or news agency has broken the standards of journalistic ethics or public taste, or an editor or journalist has committed professional misconduct, the PCI may hold an inquiry after hearing them. It may then warn, admonish or censure them [4], or record its disapproval.
• Limits
• It cannot penalise: no fines and no licence cancellation.

• It covers print only. It has no say over TV or digital media.

• It issues the Norms of Journalistic Conduct, a code of ethics for print.

Press and Registration of Periodicals (PRP) Act 2023

• Passage: introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 1 August 2023. Passed by the Rajya Sabha on 3 August 2023 and by the Lok Sabha on 21 December 2023 [3]. Notified on 29 December 2023 and in force from 1 March 2024 [2].
• Replaces the colonial Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act 1867 [2].
• Registration goes online
• The publisher applies online to the Press Registrar General of India (PRGI), earlier called the Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI) [2].
• Applications go through the Press Sewa portal (presssewa.prgi.gov.in) [2].

• The old step of filing a declaration before the District Magistrate is gone [3].

• Scope: a "periodical" is a publication printed at regular intervals with public news or comment on it. Books, and scientific, technical or academic journals, are left out [2].

• Who cannot publish: a person convicted of a terrorist act, unlawful activity or acts against the security of the State [3].
• Most offences decriminalised, so fines replace jail:
• publishing without registration: fine up to ₹5 lakh [3];
• not filing the annual statement: up to ₹20,000 for a first offence [3];

• jail (up to six months) stays only for not stopping publication when ordered to [3].

• Suspension and cancellation: registration can be suspended for 30–180 days, for example for false information [3].

• Appeal: to the Press and Registration Appellate Board within 60 days [3].
• Foreign periodicals: an exact reproduction (facsimile) can be printed in India only with the Union government's prior approval [3].

5. Broadcasting regulation

Prasar Bharati

• What it is: India's statutory public broadcaster (a public body created by an Act of Parliament). It runs Doordarshan (TV) and Akashvani (All India Radio).
• Background: the Verghese Working Group (1978) urged an autonomous broadcaster, free of direct ministry control.
• Law: the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act 1990. It was enacted on 12 September 1990 and brought into force on 15 September 1997 [5]. The corporation began work on 23 November 1997.
• The Act also provides for a Broadcasting Council (s.14) [5].
• Autonomy debate: Prasar Bharati depends on government funding, and the government shapes appointments. So its real independence is still questioned.

Private television

• Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995: every channel must follow the Programme Code (content rules) and the Advertising Code.
• Three-tier grievance system (2021 rules): complaints go first to the broadcaster, then to a self-regulatory body, then to Union government oversight.
• News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA): the self-regulator for members of the News Broadcasters and Digital Association (NBDA). It can order apologies, corrections or fines. It binds only its members.
• The draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill (2023–24) was meant to bring TV, OTT and online news under one law. It was withdrawn for fresh consultation.

6. Digital media regulation

IT Act 2000

• s.69A: the Union can block online content on Art. 19(2)-type grounds. It was upheld in Shreya Singhal (2015), which struck down s.66A.

IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021

• Intermediary: a platform that hosts or carries other people's content, such as a social media site or messaging app. It enjoys safe harbour (protection from liability for users' posts) only if it follows due diligence (the duties set by the Rules).
• Part II (MeitY): intermediaries
• Must appoint a grievance officer and remove unlawful content.
• Significant social media intermediaries (SSMIs) have 50 lakh or more users. They must also appoint a chief compliance officer and a nodal officer.

• Messaging SSMIs must identify the first originator of a message when ordered (Rule 4(2)). This traceability rule has been challenged in court.

• Part III (MIB): digital news and OTT

• They follow a code of ethics under a three-tier system:

Tier	Who handles it
Level I	The publisher itself (self-regulation)
Level II	A self-regulatory body of publishers
Level III	Union government oversight mechanism (MIB)

• In 2021 the Bombay High Court stayed Rules 9(1) and 9(3), which made the code of ethics and this oversight binding.

Amendments and litigation

Year	Change
2022	Grievance Appellate Committees (GACs) set up. A user can appeal a grievance officer's decision within 30 days, and the GAC should decide within 30 days [7]. Some complaints about prohibited content must be handled within 72 hours [7]. Three GACs were notified in January 2023 [6].
2023	A January 2023 draft wanted content flagged as false by the PIB fact check unit taken down [7]. The April 2023 amendment let a government Fact Check Unit (FCU) flag "false or misleading" content about the Union government's business.
2024	Kunal Kamra v. Union of India (Bombay HC, 20 September 2024) struck down the FCU rule [8].
2026	IT Amendment Rules 2026 tighten due diligence for synthetically generated information (SGI) [9].

• Why the FCU rule fell in Kunal Kamra [8]:
• It violated Art. 19 (free speech).
• The executive would become the final judge of what is false.
• "False or misleading" was vague and overbroad.

• It went beyond the IT Act 2000 (ultra vires, meaning outside the powers the parent Act gives).

• GACs in practice: PIB reported 1,065 cases filed and 937 disposed of by the GACs (2024) [10].

• Synthetically generated information (SGI): audio, visual or audio-visual content that is created or altered by computer to look real, so that people may not tell it apart from a real person or event. In simple words, deepfakes and similar AI content [9]. The 2026 rules add labelling and related duties for platforms [9].
• Sahyog portal: a government portal for sending takedown notices to platforms. X Corp has challenged it in court.

Prelims Hooks

• Press freedom is not named in the Constitution. It is read into Art. 19(1)(a) and limited only by Art. 19(2).
• Cricket Association of Bengal (1995) → airwaves are public property. Sakal Papers (1962) → no page or price control to cut circulation.
• Romesh Thappar (1950) led to the 1st Amendment (1951), which added "public order" to Art. 19(2).
• PCI: re-established under the Press Council Act 1978. Under s.14 it can warn, admonish or censure but cannot fine. It covers print only. Trap: it does not cover TV or OTT.
• PRP Act 2023 (in force 1 March 2024) replaced the PRB Act 1867. Books are out. The registering authority is the PRGI (formerly RNI), working through the Press Sewa portal.
• Under the PRP Act, publishing without registration attracts a fine up to ₹5 lakh. Appeals go to the Press and Registration Appellate Board within 60 days.
• Prasar Bharati Act 1990 came into force in 1997 and runs Doordarshan and Akashvani. Its autonomy was urged by the Verghese Working Group (1978).
• IT Rules 2021: an SSMI has 50 lakh+ users. The digital news and OTT code is under MIB, with a three-tier system. GACs came with the 2022 amendment.
• Shreya Singhal (2015) struck down s.66A but upheld s.69A. Kunal Kamra (Bombay HC, 2024) struck down the Fact Check Unit rule.

Mains Points

• Self-regulation vs state regulation: the PCI and NBDSA cannot impose real penalties, and NBDSA binds only its members. So paid news and trial by media go largely unchecked. But giving the government more power risks censorship. Kunal Kamra (2024) shows courts will not let the executive judge what is "true". Reform: one statutory, independent Media Council covering print, TV and digital media, with power to fine.
• Autonomy of the public broadcaster: Prasar Bharati depends on the government for funds and appointments. This falls short of Cricket Association of Bengal's idea of airwaves managed as public property by an independent authority. Fixed funding and appointments made by a committee would help.
• Plurality and ownership: cross-media ownership and TRP fraud harm the "marketplace of ideas". Ownership disclosure and limits (TRAI, 2014) and audited ratings can protect diverse voices, which civil society depends on.
• Digital regulation and Art. 19: the IT Rules (traceability, three-tier oversight, SGI labelling) target fake news and deepfakes. Critics say subordinate rules go beyond the IT Act. Any limit must pass the Art. 19(2) test of a clear ground, reasonableness and proportionality.