A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF SOME LAWS RELATING TO MEDIA

IN Law and Policy | 10/04/2002

Anyone who by words, signs or representation

Anyone who by words, signs or representation
* Promotes disharmony or feelings of enmity among religious groups, castes or communities
* Commits an act which is prejudicial to maintaining harmony between religions, caste or community groups
* Organises exercise, movement or activity to train people to use violence or criminal force against any religious, caste or community group

Will be punished

MAKING IMPUTATIONS, ASSERTIONS AGAINST NATIONAL INTEGRATION

If anyone by words, signs or representations
* Makes an imputation that a person by virtue of being of a class, religion, language cannot bear true faith to the Constitution
* Asserts, advises, propagates that any person by virtue of his class, religion, race, language be deprived of his right as citizen of India
* Makes a plea concerning such people and the plea is likely to cause hatred or ill feeling between such persons and other people

Then he/ she shall be punished

SALE, EXHIBITION ETC.OF OBSCENE BOOKS MATERIAL ETC.

If anyone sells, hires, distributes, exhibits, puts into circulation etc any obscene book or publication, painting, drawing etc or any other obscene object then such person shall be punished

A book or publication, drawing or object is obscene if it is lascivious or appeals to prurient interest or tends to deprave and corrupt people.

THE INDIAN PENAL CODE ALSO TALKS OF DEFAMATION AS A CRIMINAL OFFENCE

If anyone tries by words (spoken/ written), signs, representation to make an imputation concerning any person knowing that such imputation will harm the reputation of such a person, then that person is guilty of defamation.

An imputation harms the reputation of a person and is defamation, if it
* lowers the moral or intellectual character of that person
* lowers the character of that person in respect to his caste
* lowers the credit of that person
* leads people to believe that the body of that person is in a loathsome / disgraceful state
* concerns a company or collection of people
* is made in reference to a dead person which would harm him had he been alive, or then intends to hurt his family and near relatives

CIVIL DEFENCE ACT , 1968

WHAT IS CIVIL DEFENCE

The term civil defence includes any measure, which does not amount to actual combat.

It is meant to give protection to any person, property, place or thing in Indian Territory from hostile attack.

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