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MEDIA

Periodicals Bill, 2019, burdens printing
press owners with returns, said Paresh
Nath. “Section 3 of the Bill makes it man-
datory for all printing presses to file
returns of all the printing work done by a
printing press. This will open a pandora’s
box as every printing press not knowing
the nature of the work done will have to
file the returns of all the work done with
Registrar. This will clog the office of Press
Registrar General. The details to be filed
are still not ready and we cannot com-
ment on them. We are apprehensive that
a large number of independent print-
ing presses will stop publishing any-
thing that can be even remotely called a
‘newspaper’ or ‘publication’ or ‘magazine’
or ‘journal’ or ‘periodical’ or ‘books’ as
the various terms are used by the Bill,”
he said

ath, who launched English literary
magazine Caravan in 1940, also tion of newspapers, said Paresh Nath,
N raised questions related the quali- who oversees the Hindi periodicals of
fication segment of the Bill. “We think Delhi Press and Caravan. “Section 6 (1)
that a person convicted under Unlawful restricting the printing of a newspaper
Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 should be to India alone is not desirable in this age
allowed to start a newspaper once he has and time. Good printing facilities are now
been punished and released from jail. It available off shore also and there should
has been held that a convict continues to not be restriction on getting a newspaper
have his many fundamental rights even (with whatever frequency of publication)
when detained under any enactments. to be printed only in India. When call
There was no such provision in PRB Act centres in Bangalore can serve custom-
1867 although the British wanted to curb ers in USA or Australia, there is no rea-
the free speech that was being used by son why we can’t get cheaper or better
the freedom fighters who started news- printed ‘newspapers’ printed abroad if
paper’ in English and almost all Indian these can be shipped to India in time ac-
languages,” he said. cording to the need of the publisher,” he
“In independent India, a blanket said in the draft note.
clause like this is not desirable for the “Section 6 (2) of the Bill is very vague
whole life of the convict. He will have The Bill is definitely in its present form and gives too much
no right to present his case to the pub- delegated legislative powers to the office
lic even after his release. We also think an improvement on of the Registrar while making rules. The
that if a corporate body where foreigners the bill on the subject provision like `making an application in
have major stake is allowed to own and ‘such’ manner, by furnishing “such” docu-
bring out a ‘publication’ , an individual presented to the public ments, setting forth “such” particulars of
foreigner should also be allowed to bring in 2009, 2011 and 2013 “such” fee as “may” be prescribed are not
out a newspaper. It goes without saying specifying even the legislative intent.
that a foreigner will have no ‘fundamen- which lapsed after the The provision is very vague and the en-
tal right’ under the Constitution but a end of 14th Lok Sabha actment if passed as it is will lead to great
statutory right can be given if it is given confusion because nothing will be cer-
to the Body Corporates without exclud- in 2014 tain and too much discretion will lie with
ing those owned by foreigners,” Paresh the Registrar and his office,” he added.
Nath added. — Paresh Nath,
The Bill also has loopholes in registra- Delhi Press chief LETTERS@TEHELKA.COM

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