Page 257 - DLIS001_FOUNDATION_OF_LIBRARY_AND_INFORMATION_SCIENCE

Foundation of Library and Information Science

Notes The first Press Commission found it difficult to get figures about the Press in India. It, therefore,
suggested that there should be a Registrar of Newspapers whose duty it should be to submit to
the Government a report every year on the press in India. There were to be Deputy Registrars
under the Press Registrar in every State. These Deputies were never appointed. The Press Register
submits his report on the basis of returns filed by newspapers. Only a small portion of the
newspapers submit the annual report. Since these include all the big newspapers and most of the
medium newspapers, the annual report of the Press Registrar may not be hundred per cent
correct but is very near the truth.
Amendments to the PRB Act made in 1960 instead of solving problems created new ones. The
most important of these was that no officer could authenticate the declaration for printing a
newspaper unless the Press Registrar gave the clearance that the title of the proposed newspaper
was not the same or similar to that of a newspaper published in the State in any language or in
the same language anywhere in India. District authorities all over India from Kashmir in the
north to Kerala in the south and Tripura in the east to Rajasthan in the west had to consult the
Press Registrar and find out whether the title proposed by the publisher was ‘available’.

The PRB Act lays down a time limit within which publication has to start after a declaration has
been filed. But there is no time limit within which a declaration has to be filed after a clearance
has been given by the Press Registrar. Also, very few people file the declaration after publication
of a newspaper has ceased. Some publishers want to stick on to the title in the hope that someday
they may again resume publication. The heirs hardly ever bother to file a ceasing declaration. If
a newspaper is running at a loss, which publisher has the time or money to file a ceasing
declaration?
All these factors combined to create a situation where within 20 years of the amendments made
in 1960, the Press Registrar had cleared more than 250,000 titles but the number of newspapers
actually being published did not go to more than 45,000. The other titles fell almost equally into
three categories, the title had been cleared but no declaration had been filed. A declaration had
been filed but publication had not begun and publication had begun but the publication had
ceased. The Press Registrar has no machinery under him to find out how many newspapers were
actually being published in the country. The district authorities before whom declarations were
filed were in no better situation. They had more important things to do than keeping an eye on
the publication of newspapers. Efforts made by the Press Registrar to activate them through the
Chief Secretaries also did not bring any results.

It is to the credit of the Press Registrar that by giving a public notice, as many as 1,70,000 out of
2,50,000 blocked titles had been unblocked and made available. The unblocking is being carried
out on a continuing basis now. It was a regular complaint by prospective publishers that they
had to approach the Press Registrar several times before they could get clearance for a title. The
prospective publisher was often told that the title he wanted was not available but the Press
Registrar was not able to say where if at all a newspaper was being published under the title. The
unblocking of titles has removed this irritant.
While the Press Registrar was able to solve the problem of blocked titles by administrative
action, another problem is far more fundamental in nature. It is only if the owner is the same can
two newspapers with the same title are published. But the courts have held that the right to
publish a newspaper under a title is a right of property. It can therefore be transferred freely.
How can anyone then come in the way if a person published a newspaper permits another to
bring out an edition from another centre? During the last 40 years such transfers have in fact
taken place. The Press Registrar and the district authorities have been forced to accept this
violation of the PRB Act. Then again, a person may be bringing out several editions of his
newspaper and may say in his will that each of his sons will inherit one or more editions. They
will bring out these editions under the same title. The owners would be different and this will
be violative of the PRB Act. But can any Act interfere with the basic law of inheritance or transfer

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