Archives for the category Op-ed
Apar GuptaSitting Down For Patriotism
The case of M. Salman, a 25- year old philosophy student, arrested in Thiruvananthapuram on 19 August 2014, for his refusing to stand while the national anthem was played in a cinema during a screening, highlights the legal provisions that stifle dissent. He was finally granted bail on September 22, 2014, and is currently out on bail, but still faces the prospect of a life term in prison if found guilty of sedition by the judicial process.
The power of licences to censor
Any study of censorship has to commence with the power of licensing. Shortly after the War for Independence, our colonial masters realised that it was inefficient to enforce criminal sanction for each distinct act of dissent when the mode of expression itself could be prevented by prescribing a set of licensing conditions. Simply, why pulp the paper when you can seize the printing press?
How to challenge book bans and censorships legally
Shortly after completing my masters, I returned to active litigation in India and one of the first cases assigned to me by my employer was a case of book banning. The book, authored by a senior politician, was banned by a notification under Section 95 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Section 95 gives the state government the right to ban books that violate various provisions of the Indian Penal Code.
Table of Discontents
THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF VIEWER complaints received by the Broadcast Content Complaints Council (BCCC), a two-year-old organisation responsible for the regulation of objectionable content on Indian television, has been about the reality television show Bigg Boss.
Saving PIL from the Petitioner
MIB’s arbitrary bans #ComedyCentralBan
MIB’s arbitrary bans
Last fortnight the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting shrugged off its regulatory lethargy and issued orders prohibiting the telecast of three private television channels. One of the channels which found itself in the crosshairs was Comedy Central for telecasting last year a stand up show which according to the Ministry, “offended good taste and decency”.
necessary interventions
When it is right to copy
Intellectual property litigation is not a binary battle between the rights-holder and the infringer. It involves larger issues of public interest. The Delhi University photocopier case underlines this.