Author: Dr. Anupam Manhas, Dr. Razit Sharma

Abstract
Free press in India is yet again in news again for the reason that the World Press Freedom Index puts India at rank 159 out of 180 countries. For a democracy the situation seems gloom if not alarming. Although many have questioned the rankings, the question remains how free is the Indian press? Indian constitution safeguards the free of press under its Article 19(1) although this is subject to certain reasonable constraints that can be imposed under the following clause. While the regulatory bodies viz., Press Council of India, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and News Broadcasters Association exercise control over the press, the Editor’s Guild and the judiciary have upheld the right of press to be free from external influences including those from the government. The press is suffering from the fear
of consequences if truth is reported. It is targeted on the pretext of hate speeches and whistle blower reporters and journalists are harassed. There is a need to rethink on measures to restore the freedom of the Indian press.
The main objectives of this paper are to know the development of legal control on the press, understand the reasonable restricts that can be put on this freedom, know the court’s attitude viz-a-viz press freedom and analyze the lacunas in relevant laws so framed. The doctrinal method of study has been adopted.

Published in: GIBS Law Journal, February 2026 (Volume-8, Number-1)

Keyword: Freedom of Press | Laws | Legal Mechanism | Challenges

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