Press Council of India

The Press Council of India is a statutory body in India that governs the conduct of the print media. It is one of the most important bodies that sustain democracy, as it has supreme power in regard to the media to ensure that freedom of speech is maintained. However, it 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 21st July 2006, when it censured three newspapers — Times of India (Delhi and Pune), Punjab Kesari (Delhi) and Mid Day (Mumbai) — for violation of norms of journalistic conduct. The Council's actions may not be questioned unless it is proved to be in violation of the constitution, which makes it an exceedingly powerful body.

Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad is Chairman of the Council as of 2015^[update]. The immediate past Chairman was Markandey Katju (2011 – 2014).

The Press Council of India was first set up on 4 July 1966 by the Parliament to regulate the press in India. The basis at that time was the Press Council Act, 1965 which resulted from the recommendations of the First Press Commission of India (1952-1954). The started objectives were "to help newspapers maintain their independence" and to "raise the standards" through a code of conduct, maintaining "high professional standards" and "high standards of public taste". However, after 1978, the Council functions under the Press Council Act 1978 which arose from the recommendations of the Second Press Commission of India (1978) which argued, among other things, for a "cordial relationship between the government and the press".

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