Regulatory Capture And Political Influence In Film Certification: A Constitutional And Media Law Analysis Of Cinematic Censorship In India

Nyater Eye, LLM, Symbiosis Law College, Pune ABSTRACT The status of cinema in constitutional law is unique. The issue of social impact and vulnerability to prior restraint makes cinema a special subject of constitutional free speech jurisprudence. In India, the Cinematograph Act, 1952, regulates and certifies the films by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Although this framework is constitutionally acceptable as a mechanism of regulation, its actual functioning demonstrates that...