RATIONALE AND VISION: The Press Council of India (PCI) is an autonomous (independent) and regulatory body established to preserve the freedom of the press. It is also meant to maintain and improve the standards of newspapers and news agencies.
The Council was primarily formed to design a code of conduct for newspapers, news agencies and journalists so that they maintain high ethical and professional standards.
The first of the principles were formed by the PCI in 1983-84. These were updated in October 1992. As the PCI came upon and dealt with more and more cases relating to journalistic ethics, the principles were updated, moderated and modified.
In 1995, the then chairman of the PCI Mr Justice P B Sawant further revised and updated the guide to journalistic ethics.
To discharge these functions entrusted to it, the Council has to frame a code of ethics for those engaged in journalism and to enforce it. The Council over the years has built up a code of ethics covering aspects of journalism which came to the fore from time to time.
Whenever there is a dispute or complain about newspapers, or journalists breaching this code of conduct, the Press Council of India adjudicates on it.
There have been some additions to the ethical code on important aspects such as financial journalism and pre-poll and exit poll surveys. The council decided to publish and update code. Besides the ethics, there are also contains references to the provisions of the Constitution and of the various statute laws which have a bearing on the print media.
The PCI is also empowered to hold hearings on receipt of complaints and take suitable action where appropriate. It may either warn or censure the errant journalists on finding them guilty. It did so on 21 July, 2006, when it censured three newspapers — Times of India (Delhi and Pune), Punjab Kesri (Delhi) and Mid Day (Mumbai) — for violation of norms of journalistic conduct. The PCI is protected by the Constitution and its actions may not be questioned unless it is proved to be in violation of the Constitution.
STRUCTURE: The Press Council is headed by a Chairman, who has, by convention, been a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. The Council consists of 28 other members of whom 20 represent the press and are nominated by the press organisations/news agencies recognised and notified by the Council as all India bodies of categories such as editors, working journalists and owners and managers of newspaper; 5 members are nominated from the two houses of Parliament and 3 represent cultural, literary and legal fields as nominees of the Sahitya Academy, University Grants Commission and the Bar Council of India. The members serve on the Council for a term of three years. The Council was last reconstituted on May 22, 2001.
The Council is funded by revenue collected by it as fees levied on the registered newspapers in the country on the basis of their circulation. No fee is levied on newspapers with a circulation of less than 5000 copies. The deficit is made good by grants by the Central Government, through the Information and Broadcast ministry.
COMPLAINTS, PROCEDURE AND POWERS: The complaint against a newspaper for any publication the complainant finds objectionable and affecting him personally, should first be taken up with the editor or other representative of the publication concerned.
If the complaint is not resolved satisfactorily, it may be referred the Press Council of India. The complaint must be specific and in writing. It should be filed/lodged within two months of the publication of the offending news item in case of dailies and weeklies and four months in all other cases, along with the original/photostat copy of the news clipping The complainant must state in what manner the publication/non-publication of the matter is objectionable, and enclose a copy of the letter to the editor, pointing out why the matter is considered objectionable. The editor's reply thereto or published rejoinder, if any, may also be attached to it. A declaration stating that the matter is not pending in any court of law is also required to be filed.
If a newspaper or journalist is aggrieved by any action of any authority that may impinge on the freedom of the press, he can also file a complaint with the Council. The aggrieved newspaper or journalist may inform the Council about the possible reason for the action of the authorities against him i.e. if it is as a reprisal measure taken by the authorities due to critical writings or as a result of the policy that may effect the freedom of the press. A declaration regarding the non-pendency of the matter in any court of law is also necessary.
On receipt of a complaint made to it or otherwise, if the Council is prima facie satisfied that the matter discloses sufficient ground for inquiry, it issues a show cause notice to the respondents and then considers the matter through its Inquiry Committee on the basis of written and oral evidence tendered before it. If, on inquiry, the Council has reason to believe that the respondent newspaper has violated journalistic norms, the Council keeping in view the gravity of the misconduct committed by the newspaper, warns, admonishes or censures the newspaper or disapproves of the conduct of the editor or the journalist as the case may be. It may also direct the respondent newspaper to publish the contradiction of the complainant or a gist of the Council’s decision in its forthcoming issue.
Similarly, when the Council upholds the complaint of the aggrieved newspaper/journalist the Council directs the concerned government to take appropriate steps to redress the grievance of the complainant.
