 bill no  viii  of  2013 the ban on obscene advertisements bill, 2013 a billto provide for a ban on obscene advertisements in any form in the country and for matters connected therewith or incidental theretobe it enacted by parliament in the sixty-fourth year of the republic of india as follows:—1 (1) this act may be called the ban on obscene advertisements act, 2013(2) it extends to the whole of indiashort title, extent and commencement(3) it shall come into force with immediate effectdefinitions2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,—510(a) "advertisement" means any pamphlet, writing, drawing, painting, photograph, bill, circular, notice, label, poster, hoarding, banner or other document and also includes any communication by means of recorded telephone messages or transmitted on radio, television, the internet, or similar communication media, including film strips, motion pictures, videos, slides by means of light, and gas published, disseminated, circulated, or placed directly to the public;(b) "agency" means the banning of obscene advertisement agency established under section 4 of this act15(c) "complaint" means an objection filed by any indian citizen or institution to the agency;(d) "obscene advertisement" means depiction of women body in nude or semi-nude postures, and is considered objectionable, double-entendre and may reasonably be construed immoral and against decency; and(e) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this act5banning of obscene advertisements3 notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, allobscene advertisements are hereby banned in the country even if no objection certificate has been obtained from any authority4 (1) for the purposes of this act, the central government shall establish an agency to be known as banning of obscene advertisement agency10establishment of banning of obscene advertisement agency(2) subject to the provisions of this act, the agency shall be constituted in such manner as may be prescribed and the terms and conditions of service of persons employed in the agency shall be such as may be prescribed(3) the headquarters of this agency shall be at such place as may be prescribed5 (1) the agency shall perform the following functions:—functions of the agency15(a) hearing public grievances and registering complaints with regard to obsceneadvertisements;(b) conducting inquiry on the basis of a complaint lodged; (c) imposing a ban on the advertisement on the basis of the findings of theinquiry; and20(d) derecognising the advertisement agency/agencies making obsceneadvertisementspenalty6 whoever contravenes the provisions of section 3 shall be punishable withimprisonment for a term that shall not be less than two years but may extend to five years and with fine which shall not be less than rupees one lakh but may extend to rupees three lakh257 the central government shall provide, from time to time, after due appropriation made by parliament by law in this behalf, requisite funds for carrying out the purposes of this  actcentral government to provide funds8 the provisions of this act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in forceact to have overriding effect30power to make rules9 the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, make rules forcarrying out the purposes of this act statement of objects and reasonsdue to rapidly growing consumerism several types of perversities are taking root in the indian society as a result, the cultural values of the indian society are eroding and the safety of dignity of women is also under threat in metropolitan cities and even in the small towns, the number of crimes arising out of the degradation of our culture is increasing rapidly obscene advertisements broadcasted or brought out by the different media have contributed nothing less in this regard there is a rat race in depicting obscenity in the country in the name of advertisements the government has so far done a mere formality to check or ban obscene advertisementskeeping in view the gravity of the problem, it is imperative that a new legislation be enacted to impose a complete ban on the obscene advertisements and for this purpose a new agency be put in place so as to stop broadcasting or publication of obscene advertisements in the countryhence this billprabhat jha financial memorandumclause 4 of the bill provides for the establishment of banning of obscene advertisement agency and appointment of officers and staff of the agency clause 7 provides that central government shall provide funds to the agency after due appropriation the bill, therefore, if enacted, will involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india it is likely to involve a recurring expenditure of about rupees two hundred crore per annum from the consolidated fund of india a non-recurring expenditure of rupees four hundred crore is also likely to be involved memorandum regarding delegated legislationclause 9 of the bill empowers the central government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the bill as the rules will relate to matters of details only, the delegation of legislative power is of a normal character———— a billto provide for a ban on obscene advertisements in any form in the country and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto————(shri prabhat jha, mp)gmgipmrnd—5529rs(s4)—8032013