Article 19(1)(a): freedom of speech and expression, the press, films, sedition and hate speech

LUG-104 Constitutional Law-I, Unit II: Fundamental freedoms (Article 19). · LLB · 60 min

Freedom of speech and expression is the freedom the examiner returns to most often: the press and pre-censorship (Romesh Thappar, Brij Bhushan, Sakal Papers, Bennett Coleman, Indian Express), films (K.A. Abbas), the internet and the chilling effect (Shreya Singhal), sedition (Kedar Nath Singh), the right to know, the right to silence (Bijoe Emmanuel), commercial speech (Tata Press) and hate speech (Pravasi Bhalai Sangathan, Amish Devgan). This lecture covers the scope of the freedom, each of the eight grounds in Article 19(2) with the First and Sixteenth Amendments, and the way the seven-mark questions of 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 are structured.

Objectives

Explain the scope of 'speech and expression' and the forms of expression the courts have brought within it.
Explain why and how freedom of the press is protected under Article 19(1)(a) and the law on pre-censorship.
Explain why films stand on a different plane and the law of film censorship.
State each ground in Article 19(2) with its leading case, including sedition, public order and the Shreya Singhal tests.
Explain the law on hate speech and the right to know, silence and commercial speech.

Slides

Scope of the freedom: what 'speech and expression' covers
Why the press is protected and the problem of pre-censorship
Indirect curbs on the press: Sakal Papers (1962), Bennett Coleman (1972), Indian Express (1985)
Films: K.A. Abbas (1970) and S. Rangarajan (1989)
Article 19(2): the eight grounds, the First and Sixteenth Amendments
Public order and sedition: Ram Manohar Lohia (1960, 1966) and Kedar Nath Singh (1962)
Shreya Singhal (2015): vagueness, overbreadth and the chilling effect
Right to know, right to silence, commercial speech, symbolic speech
Hate speech: Pravasi Bhalai Sangathan (2014) and Amish Devgan (2020)
Other limits and defences: contempt, defamation, obscenity, privacy, emergency
How the examiner asks it

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