Facts:

Sakal Papers a publishing company, challenged the constitutional validity of the Newspaper (Price and Page) Act, 1956, and the Daily Newspapers (Price and Page) Order, 1960. These legislations empowered the government to regulate the price of newspapers in relation to their page count and the allocation of space for advertising.

Issues:

Whether the Act and the Order violated the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution?

Judgment:

The Supreme Court allowed the petition and declared the Act and the Order unconstitutional. The Court held that the freedom of speech and expression includes the freedom of the press, and this freedom encompasses the right to publish any number of pages and circulate them to any number of people. The Court emphasized that regulating the number of pages and the price of newspapers directly infringes upon this freedom.

The Court rejected the government's contention that advertising is merely a commercial aspect of speech and can be restricted. It held that the right to freedom of speech cannot be taken away with the object of restricting business activities.

Reasoning:

The Court reasoned that the restrictions imposed by the Act and the Order were not reasonable restrictions within the meaning of Article 19(2) of the Constitution. The Court observed that the restrictions were not related to any of the grounds mentioned in Article 19(2), such as public order, friendly relations with foreign States, or defamation. The Court further held that the restrictions were excessive and disproportionate to the object sought to be achieved.

Conclusion:

The Sakal Papers case is a landmark judgment that has significantly shaped the landscape of press freedom in India. It established that any restriction on the number of pages, price, or circulation of newspapers constitutes a direct infringement on the freedom of speech and expression. This decision has served as a cornerstone for subsequent cases involving press freedom and has reinforced the judiciary's role in safeguarding media freedoms against legislative overreach.

Significance:

This case is significant for the following reasons:

• • It upheld the freedom of the press as an essential part of the freedom of speech and expression.
• • It clarified that the freedom of speech and expression includes the right to publish any number of pages and circulate them to any number of people.
• • It held that restrictions on the number of pages, price, or circulation of newspapers are not reasonable restrictions within the meaning of Article 19(2) of the Constitution.
• • It emphasized the importance of a free press in a democratic society.

Case Comment:

The Sakal Papers case is a landmark judgment that has played a crucial role in protecting press freedom in India. The decision has been widely praised for its emphasis on the importance of a free press in a democratic society. However, some have argued that the decision has given the press too much freedom and that it has led to the proliferation of newspapers and the decline in the quality of journalism. Nonetheless, the Sakal Papers case remains a significant milestone in the history of press freedom in India.