To replace the British-era’s tedious law of newspaper registration process, the Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill 2023 through voice vote. Stating that this is yet another step of the PM Narendra Modi government towards jettisoning the “mentality of slavery”, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur stated that the bill will simplify the eight-step process of registration of newspapers to a one-step process. The bill, which was passed in Rajya Sabha during the Monsoon Session on August 3, seeks to replace the Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act of 1867.
The I&B Minister targeted the previous Congress government for continuing with the British-era law, brought in to stop freedom fighters from launching newspapers. He added that though Congress attempted to replace the PRB Act of 1867, the legislation it proposed was equally harsh as the colonial-era law, in which government permission was required to even publish a college newsletter.
The bill will allow newspapers and periodicals to be registered within two months as against the prolonged period of two to three years. Anurag Thakur said that Through the new laws, the government’s priority was to end criminality, improve the ease of doing business, and ease of living.
The new regulations will decriminalize six provisions of the previous law, except the one related to a six-month imprisonment penalty for releasing newspapers or periodicals without government registration.
The bill grants authority to the Press Registrar General to levy fines, with a maximum of ₹ 5 lakh for the unauthorized publication of periodicals and an initial penalty of up to ₹ 20,000 for not submitting the annual statement within the stipulated timeframe.
Thakur dismissed the allegations made by an AIMIM member Imtiaz Jaleel who raised concerns over a provision in the bill that empowers the Press Registrar to enter the premises of a periodical, inspect, and take records copies of the relevant records or investigate for obtaining any information. Responding to him, Thakur asserted in the Lower House of the Parliament that for the past 75 years, press freedom has been provided the most by the Narendra Modi government, however, if somebody carries an ideology to break and divide the nation, the law will take its course.
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