The Centre is methodical. The recently tabled press and registration of periodicals bill, 2023 appeared to many to be a methodical step in destroying freedoms. The government, however, declared that the bill would simplify the process of registration presented in the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867, which the new law will replace. It will aid transparency and ease of business and help small and medium publishers. But these uplifting goals have not prevented the government from opening up multiple centres of power that can decide the fate of journals. The alarm expressed by the Editors Guild of India over the bill’s ‘draconian provisions’ indicates how the bill threatens press freedom. The EGI has written about its areas of worry to the prime minister and highly-placed leaders and suggested that the bill be sent to a parliamentary select committee for discussion. ‘Registration’, not ‘regulation’, is what a free press requires.

The 1867 law empowered only the district magistrate to suspend or cancel the certificate of registration for a publication. The new law gives this power not only to the press registrar but also to other ‘specific authorities’, suggesting that law enforcement agencies, too, could butt in. The EGI fears the possibilities of arbitrariness and intrusiveness because any of these authorities can enter publishing premises to question people and seize documents. The bill seems to have built-in guarantees of compliance. Anyone accused of terrorist activity and of actions detrimental to the security of the State would be barred from publishing. The ceaseless use of laws against terror and sedition is a constant threat to journalists, who are occasionally jailed. But criticism of the government was so far being suppressed by arresting individuals; the new law would ensure silence even before a line is published. Since the Centre will evolve guidelines for news publication, it could mean a full-blown shift from news to fairy-tale. Lightening the penal provisions of the 1867 Act is intriguing too. An improper declaration of publishers and printers before the district magistrate will not matter. And the law will tread lightly when there is publication without registration, making it punishable if publishing continues for six months after warning. Who are the intended beneficiaries? A free press is one of the most precious freedoms the country enjoys. This is now at grave risk.