: To, (1) The Chief Secretary, U.P.Government, Lucknow : (2) Secretary/Director, Information and, Public Relations, U.P.,Lucknow : Freedom of Press is a guaranteed fundamental right under Article (19) (1) (a) of the Constitution of India, and it is the duty of the Press Council of India to uphold this right in view of Section 13 of the Press Council Act. Many complaints have been coming from the State of Uttar Pradesh that press freedom is being violated in various ways e.g. denying Government advertisements or accreditation of journalists to the newspaper/journalist which is critical of the government.
In this connection it may be mentioned that it is the right, and often the duty of the Press, to criticize the government when the government or some of its authorities does something wrong. In the historical decision of the US Supreme Court in New York Times vs. US (1975) Mr. Justice Hugo Black observed: “Only a free and unrestrained Press can effectively expose deception in Government. And paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people, and sending them off to distant lands to die of foreign fevers and foreign shot and shell. Far from deserving condemnation for their courageous reporting, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other newspapers deserve to be commended for serving the purpose which the Founding Fathers saw so clearly. In revealing the working of the government which led to the Vietnam War, the newspapers nobly did precisely that which the Founding Fathers hoped and trusted they would do”
The above quotation from the judgment of the U.S. Supreme Court in my opinion, is fully applicable in India too. The Press Council of India is getting reports from several parts of the country that the freedom of the Press guaranteed by the Constitution is being violated. In U.P., newspapers and journalists are often harassed in various ways if they criticize the government and its authorities. For instance, denial of govt. advertisements and accreditation to deserving newspapers/journalists is often done to make them toe the line of the government. This in my opinion is wholly unconstitutional.
In this connection it may be mentioned that the Press Council of India has framed Model Rules for all State Governments to constitute Committees for grant of government advertisements and accreditation of journalists. It is deeply regretted that no such Committees have been functional in UP, and often the government authorities in UP act arbitrarily and in a vindictive manner in this connection. In the Model Rules of the Press Council, the members of the Committees must be representatives from the recognized associations of journalists, editors of newspapers, news agencies and representatives of the electronic Media. The Press Accreditation Committee Chairperson should be elected from among the journalist members, and the Information Commissioner, Director should be its Secretary. The power to grant Accreditation should be exercised judicially and not arbitrarily. Similar are the Model Rules of the Press Council regarding the advertisement Committee.
It is deeply regretted that the UP Government has totally ignored the Model Rules of the Press Council. This state of affairs cannot be tolerated any longer. The people of U.P. are constitutionally entitled to have a free press. The Chief Secretary/Secretary Information and Public Relations Department, UP Govt. are directed to forthwith comply with the Model Rules of the Press Council and report to the Press Council what action has been taken. Delay in this matter is wholly unacceptable, and those responsible for it will be held accountable.
Markandey Katju
Chairman
Press Council of India
