Rajat Jain, School Of Law, University Of Petroleum And Energy Studies, Dehradun
ABSTRACT
Freedom of Press is that issue which is most debatable not only in India but also across all the democracies in the world from the past few decades. Press is something which not only covers the General Information but also covers various aspects of Social, Political, Economic, Sports etc. Press is been considered as the Fourth Pillar of Democracy in India. So from that we can imagine how much importance does Press holds in the Democracy. Freedom of Press and Information are the fundamental of Democracy and it must be co-exist with the freedom of Speech and Expression. But in the current scenario the Press in India has become a watchdog. Pre-Censorship in print media is quiet different from Pre-Censorship in films. The concept of Pre-Censorship in India commences from the early British era. Pre-censorship generally means that the media has decided not to discuss a particular topic for their own reasons rather than waiting for the government to demand it.
Not being British I would assume on the subject of British rule in India there may be some things the Brits are sensitive about and so the media skirts those issues. Many countries have issues in their history they are not particularly comfortable with and so these topics are often glossed over or ignored entirely by the media rather than stir up negativity or public outcry. The press has a vital role to play in media and has got extensive powers related to the same. Sometimes the press abuses its powers and the role of censorship here, comes to play. However the censorship has also tried to abuse its powers by putting a lot of limitations on press.
