 bill no 189 of 2018 the indecent representation of women (prohibition) amendment bill, 2018 byshri rabindra kumar jena, mpa billfurther to amend the indecent representation of women (prohibition) act, 1986be it enacted by parliament in the sixty-ninth year of the republic of  india as follows:—short title and commencement2 in the indecent representation of women (prohibition) act, 1986, after chapter iii, the following chapter shall be inserted, namely:—insertion of new chapter-iiia chapter iiia central authority5constitution of a central authority7a (1) the central government shall, by notification in the official gazette, constitute a central authority to govern and regulate the manner in which women are represented in any document published, broadcasted or telecasted10(2) the authority shall be headed by the member-secretary, national commission for women and shall have representatives from advertising standards council of india, press council of india, ministry of information and broadcasting and one member experienced in working on women's issue to be nominated by the national commission for women in such manner as may be prescribed7b (1) the central authority shall have the following powers and functions in respect of complaints,—power and functions of the central authority15(a) to receive appeals or complaints or grievances regarding a programme or anadvertisement broadcast or publication and adjudicate on the same in accordance with its procedure;45 of 186020(b) to investigate or take suo moto notice and examine all matters relating tocomplaints under sections 292 to 294 of the indian penal code, 1860 in so far it relates to and concerns women and the indecent representation of women as defined under section 2 or refer the case to the authorized bodies under section 9;(c) to requisition tapes of any program or advertisement or publication as deemednecessary;25(d) to consider such complaints and facilitate their settlements by passing areasoned decision in writing within sixty days of receipt of the said appeal or complaint;(e) to function in consonance with the principles of natural justice and give itsdecisions based on the written statement filed by a complainant and after providing a reasonable opportunity of being heard;30(f) recommend to the central government, guidelines or norms or amendmentsof prescribed guidelines or norms, in the light of its experience in the discharge of its functions, as well as on such other issues as may be referred to it by the central government;35(g) lay-down the standards of quality of service to be provided by the serviceproviders, advertisers and publishers and conduct the periodical survey of such service provided by the service providers so as to protect interest of the consumers of broadcasting service;(h) coordinate with the respective state governments for effective implementationof the provisions of the act;40(i) monitor, administer and promote standards of advertising practices  with aview to ensuring that advertising is not offensive to generally accepted norms and not indecent as defined in this act;(j) promote code for self regulation in advertising, media and publishing(2) for the purpose of performing its functions or holding any inquiry under this act, the committee shall have the same powers throughout india as are vested in a civil court while trying a suit under the code of civil procedure, 1908, in respect of the following matters, namely:-—(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of persons and examining them on oath;(b) requiring the discovery and inspection of documents; (c) receiving evidence on affidavits;(d) requisitioning any public record or copies thereof from any court or office: (e) issuing commissions for the examination of witness or documents; and5(f) any other matter which may be prescribed45 of 1860(3) every inquiry held by the central  authority shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228 of the indian penal code , 1860penalty on advertiser7c (1) if the central authority comes to a conclusion that the advertiser or the publisher is at default, it may:10(a) direct it not to telecast or advertise or publish the objectionable programme or advertisement pending decision;(b) direct suitable edition to the advertisement or the programme, as the case may be,(c) direct that such an advertisement or the programme, as the case may be, shall not be broadcast;15(d) direct to broadcast or publish an apology, disclaimer or warning in a suitable manner as may be prescribed by it; and(e) pass any other orders as it may deem fit20(2) in cases where the central authority does not find any merit in the  complaint, it may:(a) dismiss the complaint; and (b) dismiss the complaint with costs in cases where the committee finds that the complaint was with malafides25(3) the orders passed by the central authority shall be sent to the complainant and the advertiser, publisher or broadcaster7d (1) any person, group of persons, organization may make a complaint before the central authority about any representation in violation  of section 3 and 4 of the act after paying the requisite feecomplaint by person and group of persons, etc30(2) the complaint shall be in writing and indicate clearly the nature of publication and the manner in which it came to the notice of the complainant" statement of objects and reasonsthe indecent representation of women (prohibition) act, 1986 was enacted to prohibit indecent representation of women through advertisements or in publications, writings, paintings,  figures or in any other manner  however, the act in its present form relates primarily to the print media since the enactment of the act, technological revolution has resulted in development of new forms of communication, such as internet and satellite based communication, multi-media messaging and cable television, etc it has, thus, become necessary to widen the scope of the act so as to cover the above forms of media further, considering that the national crimes records bureau recorded a total number of 845, 895 and 453 cases of violation of the provisions of the act in the years 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively, for the law to be more effective, stringent punishment which acts as deterrent also becomes essential it is also felt that a central authority which regulates the manner in which women are represented in any document published, broadcasted or telecasted needs to be established with several powers vested in itit is, therefore, proposed to amend the indecent representation of women (prohibition)act, 1986 to ensure more effective protection to women against their indecent representation the bill, inter alia, provides to—(a) establish a central authority to govern and regulate the manner in which women are represented in any document published, broadcasted or telecasted;(b) define powers and functions of the central authority; and(c) make a provision for taking and complaints filed action  on passing appropriate orders to check indecent representation of women in advertisement the bill seeks to achieve the above objectivesnew delhi;rabindra kumar jenanovember 28, 2018 lok sabha———— a billfurther to amend the indecent representation of women (prohibition) act, 1986————(shri  rabindra kumar jena,  mp)mgipmrnd—2319ls(s3)—14122018