Recent debates on Internet censorship in India have focused to the allegedly free-for-all nature of the internet. Those of us who have argued against internet censorship have been somewhat misrepresented as arguing for absolute freedom whereby the reasonable restrictions laid down in Article 19 (A) of the Constitution of India don’t apply. Nothing could be farther than the truth. It has been said that the internet can be used to incite...

While freedom of speech and expression is an individual right, its actualisation often relies on a vast infrastructure of intermediaries. In the offline world, this includes newspapers, television channels, public auditoriums, etc. It is often assumed that the internet has created a more robust public sphere of speech by doing away with many structural barriers to free speech. But the fact of the matter is that even if the internet enables...

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would attempt to strike a balance between the right to dignity, reputation and fair trial of the accused with press freedom before laying down principles outlining the contours of Article 19(1)(a) of Constitution guaranteeing right to free speech and expression. A five-judge constitution bench of Chief Justice S H Kapadia and Justices D K Jain, S S Nijjar, R P Desai and J S...

Under sharp criticism for stalling the television premiere of The Dirty Picture on Sunday, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has said it was only following the directions of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court, and the instructions issued by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Prime time Sources in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said the court order, issued on April 19 in response to a Public Interest Litigation...

-ANI   The U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs report indicating that India is not a safe place for the girl child hit the headlines in many newspapers and news channels in the country.   Indian society has been known for its preference for the male child.   Among the 150 countries surveyed, including countries classified as LDR (Less Developed Regions), India has the highest rate of female child mortality.   According to this new data -...