Cinema on Trial: Doctrine of Prior Restraint in Censorship
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12728/culj.13.2Keywords:
Censorship, Obscenity test, Moral regulation, Prior restraint, Reasonable restrictionsAbstract
This paper sets to address the legal question of how the Censor Board can exercise such power and whether it represents the mood and approach of the government towards films and art forms in general, in India. What history tells us is quite contrary to what we're witnessing today. Our Constitution makers, while debating on the topic of freedom of speech and expression invoked libertarian philosophers like Isaiah Berlin and John Stuart Mill, and their philosophy did in fact, find its way into the said provision. The present scenario however, is one where we have departed from these libertarian ideas. What the censor board is doing today is trying to choke the marketplace of ideas at its source, which Gautam Bhatia calls 'prior restraint' in his new book Offend, Shock or Disturb. The paper tries to establish how the law of censorship, whenever rigid, has only suppressed thought and dissent, instead of allowing progressive and rational thinking. This is substantiated by analysing various case laws.
References
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15. The Indian Cinematograph Act, No. 37, Acts of Parliament, 1952.
16. §5B, TheIndian Cinematograph Act, No. 37, Acts of Parliament, 1952.
17. K.A Abbas v. Union of India, A.I.R. 1971 S.C. 481.
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19. Id.
20. The Principles for Guidance in Certifying Films <http:// mib.nic.in/ acts/cinematograph-act-1952-and-rules.>
21. A.I.R.1965 S.C.881.
22. ‘Letters to the Editor’San Francisco Chronicle (April 1957) in Bill Morgan and Nancy J Peters, Howl on Trial: The Battle for Free Expression (City Lights Books, 2006).
23. Id.
24. Roth v. United States, [1957] 354 U.S. 476.
25. Bhatia, supra note 17, 106.
26. R v. Hicklin, [1868] L.R. 2 Q.B. 360.
27. A.I.R.1965 S.C.881.
28. RanjitUdeshi v. State of Maharashtra, A.I.R.1965 S.C.881.
29. Id.
30. Bhatia, supra note 17, at 108.
31. Bhatia, supra note26.
32. Id.
33. Id.
34. Andrew Robinson, Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye: The Biography of a Master Film-Maker (University of California Press, 1989).
35. Andrew Robinson, The Apu Trilogy &India, Himal Southasian (Kathmandu)(Dec. 19, 2010), <http:// old.himalmag.com/ component/ content/article/3456-the-apu-trilogy-and-india.html.>
36. Id.
37. K.A. Abbas v. Union of India, A.I.R. 1971 S.C. 481.
38. Bhatia, supra note 17, at177.
39. Abbas v. Union of India, GLOBAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY(blog), < https://globalfreedomofexpression.columbia.edu/ cases/abbas-v-india/>
40. Bhatia, supra note 17,at 178.
41. supra note35.
42. BrijBhushan v. State of Delhi, 1950 S.C.R. 605.
43. supra note 35.
44. 1 Andre Bazin, What is Cinema,(University of California Press, 2004).
45. Ingmar Bergman, The Magic Lantern: An Autobiography (University of Chicago Press, 2007).
46. supra note26.
47. S. Rangarajan v. P Jagjivan Ram, (1989) 2 S.C.C. 574.
48. Id.
49. Sri BaragurRamachandrappa v. State of Karnataka, (2007) 3 S.C.C. 11.
50. supra note 44.
51. Gautam Bhatia, Free Speech and Public Order – II: Film Censorship and the Rangarajan Case, Indian Constitutional Law & Philosophy, (Aug.09, 2013, 7:22 AM),<https://indconlawphil.wordpress.com/2013/08/09/free-speech-and-public-order-ii-film-censorship-and-the-rangarajan-case/>
52. Bobby International v. Om Pal Singh Hoon, (1996) 4 S.C.C. 1.
53. Id.
54. supra note 44.
55. Brandenburg v. Ohio [1969] 395 U.S. 444.
56. DG, Directorate-General of Doordarshan v. AnandPatwardhan, (2006) 8 S.C.C. 433.
57. T. Ganti, The Limits of Decency and the Decency of Limits, in Censorship in South Asia: Cultural Regulations from Sedition to Seduction(Indiana University Press, 2009).
58. Roger Crisp, Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Mill on Utilitarianism(Psychology Press, 1997).
59. ‘Andrei Tarkovsky Answers the Essential Questions: What is Art & the Meaning of Life?’ Open Culture (21 June 2016) <http://www.openculture.com/2016/06/andrei-tarkovsky- answers-the- essential-questions- what-is-art-the- meaning-of- life.html.>
2. Censor Board refuses to certify Lipstick Under My Burkha, The Hindu (New Delhi)(Feb. 23, 2017, 06:07 PM),<http://www.thehindu.com/ entertainment/movies/censor-board-refuses-certificate-to-lady-oriented-lipstick-under-my-burkha/article17353939.ece.>
3. Granville Austin, The Indian Constitution (2008).
4. ISAIAH BERLIN,The Pursuit of the Ideal in The Crooked Timber of Humanity: Chapters in the History of Ideas (1990).
5. Bertrand Russell, Principles 9: Social Reconstruction(1964).
6. Isaiah Berlin, Four Essays On Liberty (2002).
7. Parliamentary Debates, Vol.12, Part 2, Cols. 8815-16 (1951).
8. Granville Austin, Working a Democratic Constitution(1999).
9. 1 Sarvepalli Gopal, Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru (Oxford University Press, 1985).
10. supra note 8, at 49.
11. INDIA CONST., amended by The Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951
12. Vida Johnson and Graham Petrie, The Films of Andrei Tarkovsky: A Visual Fugue (Indiana University Press, 1994).
13. Ekaterina Sivkova, Artists under pressure: Soviet Filmmakers and Censorship Russia Beyond The Headlines (Moscow)(October 19, 2014),<https://www.rbth.com/arts/2014/10/19/artists_under_pressure_soviet_filmmakers_and_censorship_40723.html.>
14. W. MAZZARELLA, Making Sense of Cinema in Late Colonial India, in Censorship in South Asia: Cultural Regulation from Sedition to Seduction(Indiana University Press, 2009).
15. The Indian Cinematograph Act, No. 37, Acts of Parliament, 1952.
16. §5B, TheIndian Cinematograph Act, No. 37, Acts of Parliament, 1952.
17. K.A Abbas v. Union of India, A.I.R. 1971 S.C. 481.
18. Gautam Bhatia, Offend, Shock or Disturb: Free Speech Under Indian Constitution(2016).
19. Id.
20. The Principles for Guidance in Certifying Films <http:// mib.nic.in/ acts/cinematograph-act-1952-and-rules.>
21. A.I.R.1965 S.C.881.
22. ‘Letters to the Editor’San Francisco Chronicle (April 1957) in Bill Morgan and Nancy J Peters, Howl on Trial: The Battle for Free Expression (City Lights Books, 2006).
23. Id.
24. Roth v. United States, [1957] 354 U.S. 476.
25. Bhatia, supra note 17, 106.
26. R v. Hicklin, [1868] L.R. 2 Q.B. 360.
27. A.I.R.1965 S.C.881.
28. RanjitUdeshi v. State of Maharashtra, A.I.R.1965 S.C.881.
29. Id.
30. Bhatia, supra note 17, at 108.
31. Bhatia, supra note26.
32. Id.
33. Id.
34. Andrew Robinson, Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye: The Biography of a Master Film-Maker (University of California Press, 1989).
35. Andrew Robinson, The Apu Trilogy &India, Himal Southasian (Kathmandu)(Dec. 19, 2010), <http:// old.himalmag.com/ component/ content/article/3456-the-apu-trilogy-and-india.html.>
36. Id.
37. K.A. Abbas v. Union of India, A.I.R. 1971 S.C. 481.
38. Bhatia, supra note 17, at177.
39. Abbas v. Union of India, GLOBAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY(blog), < https://globalfreedomofexpression.columbia.edu/ cases/abbas-v-india/>
40. Bhatia, supra note 17,at 178.
41. supra note35.
42. BrijBhushan v. State of Delhi, 1950 S.C.R. 605.
43. supra note 35.
44. 1 Andre Bazin, What is Cinema,(University of California Press, 2004).
45. Ingmar Bergman, The Magic Lantern: An Autobiography (University of Chicago Press, 2007).
46. supra note26.
47. S. Rangarajan v. P Jagjivan Ram, (1989) 2 S.C.C. 574.
48. Id.
49. Sri BaragurRamachandrappa v. State of Karnataka, (2007) 3 S.C.C. 11.
50. supra note 44.
51. Gautam Bhatia, Free Speech and Public Order – II: Film Censorship and the Rangarajan Case, Indian Constitutional Law & Philosophy, (Aug.09, 2013, 7:22 AM),<https://indconlawphil.wordpress.com/2013/08/09/free-speech-and-public-order-ii-film-censorship-and-the-rangarajan-case/>
52. Bobby International v. Om Pal Singh Hoon, (1996) 4 S.C.C. 1.
53. Id.
54. supra note 44.
55. Brandenburg v. Ohio [1969] 395 U.S. 444.
56. DG, Directorate-General of Doordarshan v. AnandPatwardhan, (2006) 8 S.C.C. 433.
57. T. Ganti, The Limits of Decency and the Decency of Limits, in Censorship in South Asia: Cultural Regulations from Sedition to Seduction(Indiana University Press, 2009).
58. Roger Crisp, Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Mill on Utilitarianism(Psychology Press, 1997).
59. ‘Andrei Tarkovsky Answers the Essential Questions: What is Art & the Meaning of Life?’ Open Culture (21 June 2016) <http://www.openculture.com/2016/06/andrei-tarkovsky- answers-the- essential-questions- what-is-art-the- meaning-of- life.html.>
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Published
2018-07-01
How to Cite
Baruah, S. (2018). Cinema on Trial: Doctrine of Prior Restraint in Censorship. Christ University Law Journal, 7(2), 23-44. https://doi.org/10.12728/culj.13.2
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