Context: The draft amendment of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 proposes to give the Centre “revisionary powers” and enable it to “re-examine” films already cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

Key Points

• The Central Government sought public comments on the draft Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
• The bill proposes to bring back the revisionary powers of Central government over the Central Board of Film Certification.

Draft Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2021

• The bill would empower the Centre to order re-examination of an already certified film, following receipt of complaints.
• In November 2000, the Supreme Court had upheld a Karnataka High Court order which struck down the Centre’s revisional powers in respect of films that are already certified by the Board.

The provision will be added to grant revisionary powers to the government on account of violation of Section 5B (1) of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 (principles for guidance in certifying films).

• The provisions of Section 5B (1) are derived from Article 19(2) of the Constitution and are non-negotiable.
• It is proposed to add a proviso to sub-section (1) of Section 6 of the Cinematograph Act, 1952.

The provision is: On receipt of any references by the Central Government in respect of a film certified for public exhibition, on account of violation of Section 5B(1) of the Act, the Central Government (if it considers necessary) may direct the Chairman of the Board to re-examine the film.

• Under Section 6, the Centre was empowered to call for the record of proceedings in relation to certification of a film and pass any order thereon.
• The Central Government, if the situation so warranted, has the power to reverse the decision of the Board.
• The provisions relating to certification of films under unrestricted public exhibition category are proposed to be amended, to sub-divide the existing UA category into age-based categories like U/A 7+, U/A 13+ and U/A 16+.
• It includes provisions to penalise film piracy with jail term and fine, and introduce age-based certification.
• The draft Bill proposes to insert Section 6AA which prohibits unauthorised recording of the film.

Important developments

• The Karnataka High Court had stated that the Central Government cannot exercise revisional powers in respect of films that are already certified by the Board.
• The decision was upheld by the Supreme Court on November 28, 2000.
• As per the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Supreme Court has also opined that the legislature may, in certain cases, may overrule or nullify the judicial or executive decision by enacting an appropriate legislation.

Central Board of Film Certification

• The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• It is tasked with regulating the public exhibition of films under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act 1952.
• Films screened in cinemas and on television may only be publicly exhibited in India after certification by the board.