MUMBAI– It may sound surprising, but India, the world’s largest democracy, has been waiting for a fully active, government-backed media watchdog for more than a year. The Press Council of India (PCI), a quasi-judicial body set up to protect and support press freedom, has been reduced to a near-standstill since the term of its 14th council ended on 5 October 2024.
Since then, attempts to form the statutory 15th council and restart its full range of work have hit one hurdle after another.
Right now, the PCI has a chairperson and a secretary, along with only five members representing the Rajya Sabha, the University Grants Commission, the Bar Council of India, and the Sahitya Akademi.
In normal circumstances, the council should have 28 members. Thirteen of them should be professional journalists, including 6 newspaper editors and 7 working journalists. Another 6 members are meant to represent newspaper managements (including owners), with 2 each from large, medium, and small newspapers. One member should represent news agencies.
In other words, the seats meant for journalists, editors, and newspaper owners are mostly lying vacant.
Queries To PCI Met With Silence
On 3 December, this writer sent an official email asking for details about the term of PCI chairperson Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, who took charge on 17 June 2022, and how many members had been appointed to the 15th council so far. There was no reply at all, not even a brief acknowledgement.
According to the PCI’s own website (https://www.presscouncil.nic.in/CurrentMemberPCI.aspx), only the chairperson and secretary (Shubha Gupta), along with five members, are currently in place. These five members assumed office on 20 December 2024 for a three-year term.
They are:
- Sudhanshu Trivedi, Rajya Sabha
- Brij Lal, Rajya Sabha
- Ashwini K. Mohapatra, University Grants Commission
- Manan Kumar Mishra, Bar Council of India
- K. Sreenivasarao, Sahitya Akademi
This still leaves most seats, especially those meant for media professionals, unfilled.
Slow Progress On The 15th Press Council
Some months ago, Union Information & Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the process to form the 15th PCI was underway. However, he also mentioned that the move to fill the seats reserved for media professionals is under sub judice.
The minister further said that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had already nominated three members for the 15th council: Sambit Patra, Naresh Mhaske, and Kali Charan Munda.
It is understood that the chairperson’s term ends on 16 December 2025. Before that date, there seems to be a rush to constitute the 15th council, but still without any representatives from working journalists and editors. A meeting is reportedly planned on 13 December to clear the way for the first sitting of the new council.
This raises a basic concern. How can a press council function without active participation from working journalists and editors? At that point, can it even claim to speak for the press?
The PCI is an autonomous body that first came into existence in 1966 under the Press Council Act 1965. It was then re-constituted in 1979 under the Press Council Act 1978. Its core role is to protect freedom of the press and to raise the standards of newspapers and news agencies across the country.
India, with its population of over a billion, now has close to 100,000 registered publications of different frequencies and languages, as recorded by the Registrar of Newspapers for India. On top of that, there are nearly 400 satellite news channels, thousands of news portals, WhatsApp channels, and other digital outlets.
Print Media Under Financial Stress
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, revenue from Indian newspapers and periodicals, including magazines, has been shrinking. Both subscription sales and advertising income have dropped as television, online platforms, and social media have captured a larger share of the market.
Even so, many print media watchers are cautiously optimistic. They believe traditional media will slowly regain ground. One of the reasons is what they call “digital fatigue”, where readers tire of constant online noise and look for more reliable, structured information.
Some estimates suggest that print publications could almost double their readership by 2030 if this trend continues.
There has been strong opposition from several media organisations to a proposed change in PCI rules. The change would pick members from various press clubs instead of the National Union of Working Journalists and other unions.
These media bodies point out that press clubs are usually set up for social and recreational activities. Their focus tends to be local, limited to a particular city, town, or region. Many press clubs also give membership to non-working journalists, such as academics, authors, film figures, and even diplomats, in order to build influence.
Press clubs, press guilds, or media clubs also lack a true all-India structure. They don’t have formal representation from across the country.
In contrast, recognised journalist unions represent working journalists from different regions of India. The Indian Journalists Union and the All India Working News Cameramen’s Association have already gone to court, seeking fair representation for media professionals in the PCI.
Limited Powers, But A Key Role
At present, the PCI can monitor only newspapers, periodicals, and news agencies. Its authority to enforce its guidelines is limited. It can issue warnings or censure newspapers, editors, and journalists for breaching ethical standards, but its penalties are mostly moral rather than financial or criminal.
Even so, it still plays an important role. It can receive complaints against a specific newspaper, news agency, editor, or working journalist for professional misconduct or behaviour that harms journalistic standards. It then holds hearings and passes its adjudications.
The PCI also has the power to comment publicly if it finds a government’s actions harmful to press freedom.
Many media voices have argued that television news channels, radio, and digital news platforms should also come under the PCI’s jurisdiction. This call now needs serious attention from the Information & Broadcasting Ministry.
India’s media sector is going through a complex phase, with financial stress, trust issues, and political pressure. A strong, active, and balanced Press Council is more important than ever.
The time has come not just to reactivate the PCI, but to strengthen it. It needs full representation from working journalists, editors, and media owners, as the law envisages. Only then can it respond meaningfully to the ongoing crisis facing the media fraternity and uphold the freedom and standards of the press in a credible way.
Author: Nava Thakuria
