CINEMA AND CENSORSHIP: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS UNDER INDIAN CONSTITUTION
AUTHOR – SHAKTHI. V, STUDENT AT VELS INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & ADVANCED STUDIES (VISTAS)
BEST CITATION – SHAKTHI. V, CINEMA AND CENSORSHIP: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS UNDER INDIAN CONSTITUTION, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (7) OF 2026, PG. 848-854, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.
ABSTRACT
Cinema in India occupies a constitutionally protected space as a medium of democratic expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India.[1] Yet it has been subjected, since the colonial enactment of the Cinematograph Act, 1918, to a persistent apparatus of state regulation that has frequently overstepped the constitutional bounds of reasonable restriction. This paper critically examines India’s framework of film censorship through a constitutional, statutory, and comparative legal lens. It traces the historical evolution of film regulation from colonial pre-censorship to the Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023,[2] evaluates the foundational tension between artistic freedom under Article 19(1)(a) and the permissible restrictions under Article 19(2), and surveys the landmark judicial pronouncements that have progressively shaped the constitutional parameters of film certification. The paper further analyses the regulatory challenges posed by the rise of OTT streaming platforms and the adequacy of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. A comparative study of the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and Germany is undertaken to derive lessons for institutional reform. The paper concludes that India’s certification framework must transition from a censorship model to a classification-only regime — one that upholds adult autonomy, ensures institutional independence, and reconciles regulatory authority with constitutional guarantees of free expression.
KEYWORDS: Cinema, Censorship, CBFC, Article 19(1)(a), Cinematograph Act 1952, Film Certification, OTT Regulation, Prior Restraint, Proportionality Doctrine, Comparative Film Law, Freedom of Expression
[1]INDIA CONST. art. 19(1)(a).
[2]K.A. Abbas v. Union of India, (1971) 2 SCC 111.