Regulatory Capture And Political Influence In Film Certification: A Constitutional And Media Law Analysis Of Cinematic Censorship In India
- IJLLR Journal
- Jun 15
- 1 min read
Updated: Jun 16
Nyater Ete, LLM, Symbiosis Law College, Pune
ABSTRACT
The status of cinema in constitutional law is unique. The issue of social impact and vulnerability to prior restraint makes cinema a special subject of constitutional free speech jurisprudence. In India, the Cinematograph Act, 1952, regulates and certifies the films by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Although this framework is constitutionally acceptable as a mechanism of regulation, its actual functioning demonstrates that political influence and regulatory capture is present. This essay will discuss how the executive control and discretionary standards together with informal pressures have changed the film certification into a form of ideological control instead of a neutral classification. The study takes a doctrinal and analytical methodology whereby it examines provisions in constitutions, judicial precedents and regulatory practices to determine how political capture affects freedom of expression under Article 19(1)(a). It is argued in the paper that prior restraint is normalized by regulatory capture, that it produces a chilling effect on filmmakers and that it contributes to democratic discourse and that structural and constitutional reform is required.
