This Blog is written By Mr. Priyanshu Srivastava Student of Lloyd Law College, Greater Noida & Miss Shireen Mirza Student of Lloyd Law College, Greater Noida
Introduction
Freedom of speech is the first condition of
liberty. Speech is one of the greatest gifts of mankind. A human being
can convey his thoughts, sentiments, and other feelings through speech. If we
see Freedom of speech and expression it is a natural right, which acquires by a human being from his birth. It is also regarded as the first condition of
liberty and a basic right. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the right also
includes freedom to hold opinions without any interference and to seek and
receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of
frontiers”. The essence of UDHR reflected in Article 19(1) (a) of the Indian
Constitution. In Indian Democracy Freedom of Speech and Expression is
indispensable in a democracy. If we see freedom of speech and expression’s
meaning, it is the right of a person to express one’s own convictions and
opinions freely by words through mouth, writing, printing, pictures, or some
other mode. This research paper we can
also deal with the four broader purposes of freedom of speech and expression
- Self-fulfillment
- Decision making
- Possible the mechanism to establish a reasonable balance between stability and social change
- Discovery
of truth
Meaning
of freedom of speech &expression
If we see our Indian Constitution it grants us
various and important fundamental rights to its citizens. Article 19 is one of
its main and important rights. This right includes freedom of speech and
expression, right to assemble peacefully, freedom to form associations and
unions, to move freely throughout the territory of India, to reside and settle
in any part of the territory of India, to practice any profession, or to carry
on any occupation, trade, or business.
Under this blog, we are closely concerned with Article 19 (1) (a) of the
Indian Constitution. It guarantees that all citizens shall have the right to
freedom of speech and expression. This right only available to a citizen of
India. Freedom of speech and expression means the right to express opinion
freely by words of mouth, writing, printing, pictures or any other mode. If we
talk about freedom of speech and expression it is the sentiments of a free
citizen which he pleases before the public. Speech and expression are the bulwarks
of a democratic government and it has great importance. The rights which were conferred under
article 19 are the right of a freeman. The freedom of speech and expression
provide benefits more to the hearer than the speaker. This freedom is very
essential for the pursuance of truth[i].
This freedom opens up channels of free discussion of issues and plays crucial
role in public opinion on social, political, and economic matters[ii].
In one of the landmark judgments, Romesh
Thapper v. State of Madras[iii]
Chief Justice Patanjali Sastri observed that:
The freedom lay at the foundation of all
democratic organizations, for without free political discussion, no public
education, so essential for the proper functioning of the processes of popular
government is possible. A freedom of such amplitude might involve risks of
abuse. But the framers of the Constitution may well have reflected with
Madison, who was the leading spirit in the preparation of the First Amendment
of the Federal Constitution, that it is better to leave a few of its noxious
branches to their luxuriant growth than by pruning them away, to injure the vigour of those yielding the proper fruits.”
Freedom of speech and expression should, therefore,
receive generous support from all those who believe in the participation of
people in the administration. The freedom of speech and expression includes
freedom of circulation and propagation of ideas and, therefore, the right
extends to the citizen to use the media to answer the criticism leveled against
the views propagated by him. Every citizen has an undoubted right to express what
sentiments he pleases. This freedom must, however, be exercised with
circumspection and care must be taken not to trench on the rights of other
citizens or to jeopardize public interest[iv].
Freedom of speech and expression has long been a
hallmark of a healthy democracy and a free society. In England, this right is
enjoyed as a result of the application of the principle of ‘the Rule of Law’.
Under English Law, the freedom of expression is, of course, intrinsically
important. It is valued for its own sake. In an English case, it was held that
freedom of expression has four broad social purposes to serve: (i) It helps an
individual to attain self- fulfillment; (ii) It assists in the discovery of
truth; (iii) It strengthens the capacity of an individual in participating in
decision-making; and (iv) It provides a mechanism by which it would be possible
to establish a reasonable balance between stability and social change[v].
Freedom, unlike an infringed right, is subject to
statutory curtailment and may be restricted by judicial development of law[vi].
Scope
of freedom of speech and expression
Freedom of speech and expression is a vital feature
that a democracy runs with. For any democracy to thrive, people must be given
the liberty to express their feeling without restriction. This very important
feature of the freedom of speech and expression is enshrined to the Indian
citizens by Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India. It provides that all
citizens irrespective of color, creed, and religion have the right to raise
their voice in matters of importance or otherwise without any restriction
within or without. This freedom comes in for the assumption that rationality of
men come above everything else, and every individual, by his/her own
discretion and wisdom[vii]
knows what is good or bad. While on a discussion upon the scope of freedom of
speech and expression the apex court always said that, the words freedom of
speech and expression must be broadly constructed to include the freedom to
circulate one’s views by words of mouth or in writing or through audio-visual
instrumentalities. It, therefore, includes the right to propagate one’s views
through the print media or through any other communication channel e.g. the
radio and the television.
Grounds
of restriction on freedom of speech and expression
It is necessary to maintain freedom of speech and
expression in a democracy, so it is very necessary to place some restrictions on
this freedom for maintaining the social order. Article 19 (2) specifies the
ground to which reasonable restriction on the freedom of speech and expression
can be imposed they are as follows:
Security
of State: The
term ‘security of the state’ refers only to serious and aggravated forms of public
disorder, while speeches and expression can incite or encourage the commission
of violent crimes, which would undermine the security of the state. The expression
‘security of the state’ in Article 19 (2) does not merely mean as a danger to the
entire country‘s security, but endangering the security of a part of the state
would also involve a threat to the security of the state.[viii]
Friendly
relations with the Foreign States: This ground was added
by the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951. The object behind the
provision is to prohibit unrestrained malicious propaganda against a foreign-friendly state, which may jeopardize the maintenance of good relations between
India and that State. The interest of friendly relations with foreign States, would
not justify the suppression of fair criticism of the foreign policy of the
Government. It is to be noted that members of the Commonwealth including
Pakistan is not a ‘foreign state’ for the purposes of this Constitution. The
question arises before the Supreme Court whether a restriction can be imposed
on the freedom of speech and expression on the ground of its prejudicial to a
Commonwealth country. The Court stated that a country may not be regarded as a
foreign State for the purpose of the Constitution, but may be regarded as a
foreign power for other purposes.[ix]
Public
Order: This ground was added by the Constitution (First Amendment)
Act. ‘Public order’ is an expression of wide connotation and signifies. Public
order is something more than ordinary maintenance of law and order. ‘Public
order’ is synonymous with public peace, safety, and tranquillity.[x]
Decency
or Morality: These are terms of variable content
having no fixed meaning for ideas about decency or morality; vary from society
to society and time to time depending on the standards of morals prevailing in contemporary society. The ordinary meaning of the ‘decency’ indicates
that the action must be in conformity with the current standards of behavior
or propriety.[xi]
Contempt
of Court: Restriction on the freedom of speech and
expression can be imposed if it exceeds the reasonable and fair limit and
amounts to contempt of court. According to Section 2 ‘Contempt of court’
may be either ‘civil contempt’ or ‘criminal contempt.[xii]
Defamation: A statement, which injures a man’s reputation, amounts to defamation. Defamation
consists of exposing a man to hatred, ridicule, or contempt. The civil law relating to defamation is still uncodified in India and subject to certain
exceptions.[xiii]
Incitement
to an offense: This ground was also added by the
constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951. Obviously, freedom of speech and
expression cannot confer a right to incite people to commit offenses. The word
‘offense’ is defined as any act or omission made punishable by law for the time
being in force.[xiv]
Sedition: As
understood by English law, sedition embraces all those practices whether by
words or writing which is calculated to disturb the tranquillity of the State
and lead ignorant persons to subvert the government. It should be noted that the
sedition is not mentioned in clause (2) of Art. 19 as one of the grounds on
which restrictions on freedom of speech and expression may be imposed.[xv]
Conclusion:
It
is easily concluded that freedom of speech and expression is one of the most
important fundamental rights. From the above case laws and their analysis, it is
proved that court has always placed a broad interpretation on the value and
content of article 19(1) (a) and make it permissible restriction under article
19 (2). Thus, we can also say that this fundamental right has a very much wider
scope. And the way this right helps citizens of India to express themselves
with certain restrictions.
[ii] Jellis Subhan, “Emerging Rights
Under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India
[iii] Romesh Thapper V. State of
Madras AIR 1950 SC 124
[vi] Wheeler v. Leicester City
Council (1985) AC 1054 per Browne- Wilkinson, I.J.
[vii] Retrieved from <http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_Article_19_1_a_of_the_
constitution _of_India> visited on 10-04-2011.
[viii] Ram Nandan v. State, AIR 1959
All 101
[ix] Supdt. Central Prison v. Ram
Manohar Lohia, AIR 1960 SC 633
[x] Supdt. Central Prison v. Ram
Manohar Lohia, AIR 1960 SC 633
[xi] Ranjit Udeshi v. State of
Maharastra, AIR 1965 SC 881
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