 the cinematograph (amendment) bill, 1958further to amend the cinematograph act, 1952 ' be it enacted by parliament in the ninth year of the republic of india as follows:-, 1 this act may be called the cinematograph (amendment> act, short title 1958 of 19s2, 5 2 in section 1 of the cinematograph act, 1952 (hereinafter refer- amendment red to as the principal act), in sub-section (2), for the words and of section i letter "part c states", the words "the union territories" shall be substituted 3 in section 2 of the principal act, after clause (d), the following amendment 10 clause shall be inserted, namely: _ of section 2 '(dd) "film" means a cinematograph ,film;' 15 4 for sections 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the principal act, the following substitution sections shall be substituted namely'-of new sec-, - tions for sections 34, sand 6 "3 (1) for the purpose' of sanetioning ft~msfor publicexhi- board of bitlon, the central government may, by notiftcatlon in the film cen-official gazette, constitute b board to be called the board of son fihn censors which shall consist of a chairman and not more than nine other members appointed by the central government lu r (2) the chairman of the bgard shall reeelve such salary and allowances as may be determined by the central' goivern· ment, and the other members shall receive such au4)wances or fees for attendiag the meetings of the boarcl may" be prescribed (3) the other terms and conditions of service of the members of the board shall be such as may be prescribed rumination of fihm 4 (1) any person desiring to exhibit any film shall in the prescribed manner make an application to the board for a certiftcate in respect thereof, and the board may, after examin- 5 ing or having the film examined in the prescribed manner,-(i) sanction the film for unrestricted public exhibition; or (ti) sanction the film for public exhibition restricted to adults; or 10 (iii) direct the applicant to carry out such excisions or modiftcations in the ftlm as it thinks necessary before sanctioning the film for unrestricted public exhibition or for public exhibition restricted to adults as the case may be; or 15 (iv) refuse to sanction the film for public exhibition (2) no action under clause (ii), clause (iii) or clause (tv) of sub-section (1) shall be taken by the board except after giving an opportunity to the applicant for representing his views in the matter lo advilory panell 5 (1) for the purpose of enabling the board to effieiently daaeharge its hmctions under this ad, the central govemment may establish at such regional centres as it thinks fit advisory panels each of which shall consist of such number of persons, beb,lg persons qualified in the opinion of the central govern- as mat to judge the elect of films on the public, as the central government may think fit to appoint thereto (2) at each regional centre there shall be as many regional ofacers as the central government may think fit to appoint, adel rules made in this behalf may provide for the association 30 of regional officers in the examidatlon of ft1ms (3) the board may consult in such manner as may be preseribed any advisory panel in respect of any film for which an application for a certificate has been made (4)' it shall be the duty of every such advisory panel 35 < wh~~her acting as a body or in committees as may be provided in \be rules made' in' this behalf to examine the film and to mak~ ~ recom~endatio,ns to the ,baa'rd as it thinks ftt (5) th~ members- of the advisory panel $ball not be entitled to any 'lialary but shall receive such fees or allowanees as may be prescribed 5 10 5a (l) if, after e; ·lmining a film or having it examined in certification the manner provided in this act, the board considers that the of film~ film is suitable for unrestricted public exhibition or that, although not suitable for such exhibition, it is suitable for public exhibition restricted to adults, it shall grant to the person applying for a certificate in respect of a film a "u" certificate in the former case and an "a" certificate in the latter case, and shall in either case cause the film to be so marked in the prescribed manner (2) a certificate granted or an order refusing to grant a certificate in respect of any film shall be published in the gazette of india is (3) subject to the other provisions contained in this act, a certificate granted by the board under this section shall be valid throughout india for a period of ten yatrs 5b (1) a film shall not be certified for public exhibition if, in principks the opinion of the authority competent to grant the certificate f~r ~~1f~~g 20 the film or any part of it is against the interests of the security films of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality, or involves defamation or contempt of court or is likely to incite the commission of any offence (2) subject to the provisions contained in sub-section (l), 25 the central government may issue such directions as it may think fit setting out the principles which shall guide the authority competent to grant certificates under this act in sanctioning films for public exhibition 5c· any person applying for a certificate in respect of a film appcab 30 who is aggrieved by any order of the board-(a) refusing to grant a certificate; or (b) granting only an "a" certificate; or (c) directing the applicant to carry out any excisions or modifications;  35 may, within thirty days from the date of such order, appeal to the central government, and the central government may, after such inquiry into the matter as it considers necessary and after giving the appellant an opportunity for representing his views in the matter, make such order in relation thereto as it 40 thinks fit of the central government 6 (1) notwithstanding anything contained in this part, the central government may at my stage call for the reeord of any proceeding in relation to any film which is pending before, or has been decided by, the board, and after such inquiry into the matter as it considers necessary, make such order in relation thereto as 5 it thinks fit, and the board shell dispose of the matter in conformity with such order: provided that no such order shall be made prejudicially affecting any person applying for a certificate or to whom a certificate has been granted, as the case may be, except after 10 giving him an opportunity for representing his views in the matter (2) without prejudice to the powers conferred on it under sub-section (i), the central government may, by notiftcat1on in the official gazette, direct that-is (a) a film which has been granted q certificate shall be deemed to be an uncertified film in the whole or any part of india; or  (b) a film which has been granted a "u" certificate shall be deemed to be a film in respect of which an "a" certificate 20 bas been granted; or (c) the exhibition of any film be suspended for such period as may be specified in the direction: provided that no direction issued under clause (c) shall remain in force for more than two months from the date of :l5 the notification (3) no action shall be taken under clause (a) or clause (b) of sub-section (2) except after giving an opportunity to the person concerned for representing his views in the matter (4) during the period in which a fum remains suspended 30 under clause (c) of sub-section (2), the film shall be deemed to be an uncertified film" iuhrlion of 5 after section 7 of the principal act, the following sections shall new sections  7a, 78, etc be inserted, namely:-power of seizure "·7a (1) where a film in respect of which no certificate has 3s been granted under this act is exhibited, or a ftlm certified as suitable for public exhibition restricred to adults is exhibited to any person who is not an adult or a film is exhibited in contravention of any of the other provisions contained in this act or of any order made by the central government or the board in the 40 exercise of any of the powers co~ferred on it, any pouce,offtcer rooy, in pursuance of an order made in this behalf by the district magistrate or by any magistrate of the first class empowered in this behalf by the district magistrate, enter any place in which he has reason to believe that the film has been or is being or is likely to be exhibited, search it and seize the film 5 (2) all searches under this act shall be carried out in aceordance with the provisions of the code of criminal procedure, 1898, relating to searches  - 10 15 7b the central government may, by general or special delegation order, direct that any power, authority or jurisdiction exercisable of bopowers by the board under this act shall, in relation to such matters and by ard subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified in the order, be exercisable also by the chairman or any other member of the board, and anything done or action taken by the chainnan or other member specified in the order shall be deemed to be a· thing done or action taken by the board 7c fol' the purpose of exercising any of the powers con- power to ferred on it by this act, the central government or the board direct ex- fil t b h'b't d b f  b f hibition of may require any moe ex lie e ore it or e ore any films for person specified by it in this behalf examination 20 7d no act or proceeding of the board or of any advisory vacancies, panel shall be deemed to be invalid by reason only -of a vaeancy i~~'~id~~: to in, or ~my defect in, the constitution of the board or panel, as the proceeding case may be 25 7e all members of the board and of 'any advisory panel members of shall, when acting or purporting to act in pursuance of any of thed d~oard an a visory the provisions of this act, be deemed to be public servants within panels to be the meaning of section 21 of the indian penal code ~~:tl~~ 9cr-7f no suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against the bar of leaa central government, the board, advisory panel or any officer or proceedings member of the central government, board or advisory panel, as the case may be, in respect of anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this act" 6 for sub-section (3) of section 8 of the principal act, the follow- amendmci\1 35 ing sub-section shall be substitured, namely: _ of ~ec:tion 8 "(3) all rules made by the central government under this part shall be laid for not less than thirty days before each house of parliament as soon as may be after they are made, and shall be subject to such modifications as parliament may make during the session in which they are so laid or the session immediately following"  statement of objects and reasonsas a result of the experience gained in the working of the cinematograph act, 1952, for the last six years, it is consida!re<i necessary to make certain changes in its provisions for clarification, without making any, substantial change in the working of the present act  section 3 of the cinematograph act, 1952, empowers the central government to constitute a board of film censors consisting of such number of persons as may be prescribed for the purpose of examining and certifying films as suitable for public exhibition the films are examined by the regional officers with the aid of the advisory panels consisting of non-officials the composition of the board, the constitution of the advisory panels and the procedure for examination of films by the regional officers with the aid of the advisory panels are at present laid down in the rules the bill makes express provisions in this behalf in the principal act it also incorporates the principles for guidance in certifying films, based on the provisions of article 19 (2) of the constitution in addition, the bill makes provision for certain matters of a procedural and routine character n1tw delhi; the 8th december, 1958 b v keskar the bill seeks to include express provisions in the principal act, respecting the composition of the board of film censors and the constitution of advisory panels to enable the board to perfom its functions of sanctioning films for public exhibition as at present the chairman will continue to be a wholetime official and the members will be non-officials, working part-time in an honorary capacity they will be paid travelling allowance only for attending meetings in connection with the work of the board the advisory panels have been constituted at present at bombay, calcutta and madras under the rules framed under the act their membership is also honorary, but conveyance allowance at the rate of rs 10/- per di'em is paid to them for attending film shows or meetings convened by regional officers in connection with the examination of films the annual expenditure on the salary of the chairman, the travelling allowance of the members of the board and conveyance allowance of the members of the advisory panels is estimated at rs 90,000/- the expenditure on these items is already being incurred through appropriations made by parliament, and no additional expenditure is anticipated  - 1501 ls-·2  memorandum regarding delegated legislationclause 4 of the bill provides for the determination by th'e central government of the salary and allowances payable to the chairman and the fees or allowances to the other members of the board of film censors and to the members of the advisory panels it also provides for determination of other terms and conditions of service of the members of the board and the advisory panels it empo~rs the central government to prescribe the manner in which applications shall be made to the board for certification of films the rule making power already conferrs by section 8 of the act is sufficiently comprehensive to enable all such matters b'eing regulated by rules all that the amending bill seeks to do is to refer to these topics - in the body of the act in appropriate places the rul'e making i-"'lower is of a normal character , -  annexure extracts from the cinematograph ac'r, 1952 (no 37 of 1952)an act to make provision for the certification of cinematograph films for exhibition and for regulating exhibitions by means of cinematographs be it enacted by parliament as follows:- part i preliminary1 0) this act may be called the cinematograph act, 1952 short title, extent and (2) parts i, ii and iv extend to the whole of india except the commence- state of jammu and kashmlr and part iii extends to part c states ment only (3) this act shall come into force on such date as the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, appoint 2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires-definition •• (a) "adult" means a person who has completed his eighteenth year; (b) "board" means the board of film censors constituted by the central government under section 3; (c) "cinematograph" includes any apparatus for the representation of moving pictures or series of pictures; (d) "district magistrate", in relation to a presidency-town means the commissioner of police; (e) "place" includes a house, building tent and any description of transport, whether by sea, land or air; (f) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this act  part ii certification of films for public exhibition3 the central government may, by notification in the official board ofrum gazette, constitute a board of film censors, consisting of such num- censors ber of persons as may be prescribed, for the purpose of examining and certifying films as suitable for unrestricted public exhibition or for public exhibition restricted to adults and prescribe the manner in which the board shall exercise the powers conferred on it by this act certification 4 (1) if the board, after examination, considers that a film is of films suitable for unrestricted public exhibition or that, although not suitable for such exhibition it is suitable for public exhibition restricted to adults, it shan grant to the person applying for a certificate in respect of the film a "u" certificate in the former case and an "a" certificate in the latter case, and shall, in either case, cause the film to be so marked in the prescribed manner, and any such certificate shell, save as hereinafter provided, be valid throughout india (2) if the board is of opinion that a film is neither suitable for unrestricted public exhibition nor for public exhibition restricted to adults, it shall inform the person applying for the certificate of its decision appeals 5 (1) any person applying for a certificate, who is aggrieved by the decision of the board-(a) refusing to grant a certificate, or (b) granting only an "a" certificate, may, within thirty days from the date of such decision, appeal to the central government, and the central government may, after such inquiry into the matter as it considers necessary, pass such orders thereon as it thinks fit (2) if the central government rejects an appeal on the ground that a film is neither suitable for unrestricted public exhibition nor for public exhibition restricted to adults, it shall, by notification in the official gazette, direct that the film shall be deemtd to be an uncertified film in th{! whole of india (3) for the purpose of disposing of any appeal under this section, the central government may demand the exhibition of any film before any authority specified in this behalf and call for the report of such authority thereon (4) nothing in this section shall prevent the central gbvernment from calling at any time for the, record of any proceeding of the board relating to the refusal to grant, or the grant of, any certificate and in which no appeal has been preferred and to make such order in the case as to the central government may seem fit 6 notwithstanding anything contained in this part, the central power of government may, of its own motion by notification in the oftlcial ~=~n?~~ gazette direct thatmodify , orders under (a) a certified film shaii be deemed to be an uncertified film tect~on 4 or sc'ctlcln 5 in the whole or any part of india; or (b) a film in respect of which a "u" certificate has been granted, shall be deemed to be a film in respect of which an "a" certificate has been granted; or (c) the exhibition of any film be suspended for such period as may be specified in the direction: provided that no direction issued under clause (c) shall remain in force for more than two months from the date of the notification 6a any person who delivers any certified film to any distributor information or exhibitor shall, in such manner as may be prescribed, notify to ~e~lts d~~be the distributor or exhibitor, as the case may be, the title, the g~ve~l to  dlstrllutors length of the film, the number and the nature of the certificate and cxhibigranted in respect thereof and the conditions, if any, subject to tors with  respect which it has been so granted, and any other particulars respectmg certified to the film which may be prescribed films 7 (1) if any person-(a) exhibits or permits to be exhibited in any place-penalties f rji contraventions of this pari (i) any film other than a film which has been certified by the board as suitable for unrestricted public exhibition or for public exhibition restricted to adults and whi<!h, when exhibited displays the prescribed mark of the board and has not been altered or tampered with in any way since such mark was affixed thereto, (ii) any film, whil:!h has been certified by the board as suitable for public exhibition restricted to adults, to any person who is not an adult, or (b) without lawful authority (the burden of proving which shall be on him), alters or tampers with in any way any film after it has been certified, or (c) fails to comply with the provision contained in section 6a or with any order made by the central government or by the board in the exercise of any of the powers or functions conferred on it by this act or the rules made thereunder, he shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to three months, or with· fine which m'~ extend to one thousand rupees, or with both, and in the case of a continuing offence with a further fine which may extend to one thousand rupees for each day during which the offence continues (2) if any person is convicted of an offence punishable ~m~er this section committed by him in respect of any film, the convlctmg court may further direct that the film shall be forfeited to the government (3) the exhibition of a film, in respect of which an "a" certifi- cate has been granted, to children below the age of three years accompanying their parents or guardians shall not be deemed to be an offence within the meaning of this section 1'ower to 8 (1) the central government may, by notification in the make rules official gazette, make rules for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this part (2) in particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, rules made under this section may provide for-(a) the number of persons who may constitute the ,board and the manner in which the board may exercise its powers, including the delegation of any of the powers of the board to such person or persons as the board may nominate in that behalf; (b) the procedure of the board for examining and certifying films as suitable for public exhibition and all matters ancillary thereto and the fees that may be levied by the board; (c) the appointment of officers subordinate to the board and the regulation of the terms and conditiobs of service and the powers and duties of such officers; (d) the conditions (including conditions relating to thp length of films in general or any class of films, in particular) subject to which any certificate may be granted, or the circumstances in which any certificate shall be refused; (e) the manner in which an appeal under this part may be preferred; (f) any other matter which by this act is to be prescribed (3) alll rules made by the central government under this part shall be laid before parliament as soon as may be after they are made power to 9 the central government may, by order in writing exempt, exempt subject to such conditions and :restrictions, if any, as it may impose, the exhibition of any film or class of films from any of the provisioiul of this part or of any rules made thereunder - - - -  a bill further to amend the cinematograph act, 1952the president has, in pursuance of clause (3) of article 117 of the constitution of india, recommended to lok sabha the consideration of the bill m nkaul, secretary (dr b v keskar, minister of information and broadcastmg) 