Censorship: Scope and Limitations

The judgment delivered on February 10 by Mr Justice D P Madon on behalf of the Division Bench of the Bombay High Court consisting of himself and Mr Justice M H Kania in the appeal filed by Binod Rao, Press Adviser to the Government of Mahrashtra, contains a detailed exposition of the scope of censorship of the Press imposed after the proclamation of Emergency on June 26, 1975. In his judgment the learned Judge has made important observations on the limitations within which the censor must function and defined the censor's duties with crystal clarity. Binod Rao had appealed against the 'decision of Mr Justice R P Bhatt setting aside his orders dated July 15, 1975 prohibiting publication of eleven articles, reports, letters and quotations intended for publication in the August 1975 issue of Freedom First, edited by M R Masani.