In this article, Jahnavi Singh, pursuing Diploma in Entrepreneurship Administration and Business Laws from NUJS, Kolkata discusses the Press Council of India.

Introduction

The Press Council of India was first established in the year 1966 by the Parliament of India, recommended by the first Press Commission. The object was to preserve the freedom of the press and for maintaining and improving the standards of the press in India.  Presently, the function of the council is governed under the Press Council Act, 1978. It is a statutory, quasi-judicial body which acts as the watchdog of the press. It adjudicates the complaints against and by the press for violation of ethics and for violation of the freedom of the press respectively.

It is headed by the Chairman, who should be a retired judge of the Supreme court of India. The Council has 28 members of which 20 have to represent the press by being nominated by the press organisations, agencies and other bodies. 5 members are nominated by the 2 houses of the parliament and 3 represents cultural and legal fields and one nominee of the Bar Council of India. They serve for a term of 3 years. The Council was reconstituted on 22nd May 2001.

It is being basically funded by revenue which is being collected as fee levied on the registered newspaper in the country on the basis of the regulation. No fees are levied on newspaper which has circulation less than 5000 copies.  

Functions of the Press Council of India

1. It helps the newspaper to maintain the independence.
2. It builds a code of conduct for the newspapers in accordance with the high professional standards
3. It works to promote technical and other research areas related to the news
4. It helps provide proper training to new journalists
5. It helps to spread the news all over India
6. It promotes the supply of newspaper from one place to another and on time
7. It helps to promote the proper function of production or publication of the newspaper in a proper manner
8. It helps to keep a review of on all the functioning, the production and processing of the newspaper.
9. It ensures that maintenance of the taste of the people should be kept in mind and see over both the rights and responsibility of the citizenship.

Powers of the Council

1. They have the power to censure any rule which generally violates the journalists’ ethics and the public taste.
2. They can hold any enquiry against any editor of the journal if they found that any misconduct has been taken place with regard to any matter related to the press.
3. The proceedings should be taken place with regard to the judicial hearing under Section  193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code.

Complaint Procedure

If we have to make any complaint against the newspaper then the Press Council of India is the best place to start. If the complaint is not resolved by the journalist and the individuals are not satisfied then they can approach the Press Council for justice.

• The complaints should be in writing within two months of the publication of the news on a weekly or daily basis and four months in other cases. It should also be mentioned that how the publication is objectionable within the meaning of the Act.  
• The copy of the letter should be given to the editor and its reply should also be attached their within. A declaration form should also be attached.  In declaration form, it should be clearly mentioned that this case is not pending in any other courts.
• On the other side if the editor or the journalist feels that he is aggrieved by the action then he can also file a complaint under this Act. The journalist should inform the Council about the reason for the action of the authorities against him. Declaration against any matter is going on in any of the courts is also to be mentioned.
• On seeing the complaint, if the Council feels that the matter discloses the sufficient ground then for the inquiry then they will issue a show cause notice to the respondent and then they will consider the matter through the committee on the basis of both the written and the oral evidence. If the council comes to know that the respondent newspaper has violated the norms of the journalism then the council while keeping in mind the misconduct which was committed by the newspaper will warn the journalist or will disapprove the journalist of not publishing anything as the case may be.
• When the council takes up the case of the misconduct it also directs the government to take the appropriate steps with regard to the grievances of the complainant.  The decision of the council will be final it cannot be challenged in any of the courts. The licence of the journalist can also get cancelled if any misconduct has taken place with regard to them.

Meeting Session

For the meeting of the press, a notice should be issued to every member of the council at least 21 days before the meetings being taken place.  The start date of 21 days should be counted from the date of the proceedings.

Questions being Raised in such Meetings

A member shall bring a question before the council after giving 10 days clear notice to the secretary and puta agenda of the meeting as what has to be done in the meeting. A chairman has a power to give rise to that question or can cancel that question. The chairperson has also such powers that he can raise any question without giving prior notice.

Expectation from the Clients

It is being expected from the client that only if they feel like any misconduct have been taken place then only they should come to the committee otherwise it is of no use. Neither the committee nor any other person has that much of time to go through the case which is vague. So there are somethings which are expected from the customers and they are as follows:

1. The case which they are going to file should be according to the provision as being mentioned in the act.
2. All the news agencies should remit the levy to the council properly.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the press plays a very important role in today’s world. The news given by different newspapers should be correct as all the citizens of India read the newspaper and this impacts their life. Nothing vague should be mentioned in the newspaper. All the news regarding every sector should be mentioned. People have a right to know that what is happening in the world.

Press Council of India is important to stop the misconduct which takes place among the press. By the passing of the Act, the situation of press has improved a lot. Journalists are scared before publishing any fake news as this can affect their career as well as their licence can also get cancelled. There are many competitions which are being taken place among different newspapers.