Constitutionality Of Section 5b Of The Indian Cinematograph Act, 1952

Constitutionality Of Section 5b Of The Indian Cinematograph Act, 1952

- Akanksha Sood

The Supreme Court recently in the case of Viacom 18 Media Private Limited and Ors. v. Union of India And Ors., held that once an expert body has determined the maintainability of a film in view of its effect on public order, the states cannot refuse such a film for public exhibition on the grounds that it may imperil public order.

The power to refuse a film for public exhibition on the grounds of public order is conferred to the Central Board of Film Certification by virtue of Section 4(1) (iv) read with Section 5B of the Indian Cinematograph Act, 1952 (the act).

Section 4(1)(iv) allows for the refusal of certification of films while Section 5B reads:

A perusal of this provision makes it patent that it is pari materia with the restrictions on free speech espoused in Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India (the Constitution). The constitutionality of Section 5B was affirmed in the case of K.A. Abbas v. Union of India, wherein the court held:

“With this preliminary discussion we say that censorship in India (and pre-censorship is not different in quality) has full justification in the field of the exhibition of cinema films.”

It is, however, pertinent to note that the constitutionality of Section 5B was only affirmed in response to its incongruence with Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution which guarantees free speech. In this piece, I shall attempt to explore the constitutionality of Section 5B in terms of the federal structure enshrined in the Constitution