FREEDOM OF

SPEECH AND
EXPRESSION
ALONG WITH
RIGHT TO
KNOW

SUBMITTED BY:-
VIVEK VARUN
ROLL NO- 185/14
BCOM LLB
UILS, PU, CHD

SUBMITTED TO:-
MRS. KRITIKA
RTI TEACHER
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I have taken efforts in this project. However, it would not have been possible

without the kind support and help of many individuals and organizations. I

would like to extend my sincere thanks to all of them.

I am highly indebted to Mrs. Kritika for her guidance and constant

supervision as well as for providing necessary information regarding the

project & also for her support in completing the project.

I would like to express my gratitude towards my parents for their kind co-

operation and encouragement which help me in completion of this project.

My thanks and appreciations also go to my colleague in developing the

project and people who have willingly helped me out with their abilities.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION ALONG WITH
RIGHT TO KNOW

"Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to

conscience, above all liberties". John Milton

INTRODUCTION

Freedom is one of the 6 freedoms which the Constitution of Indiaguarantees

under its Article 19(1). The main conception behind granting this freedom to
the citizen of India was to allow them to freely develop their thoughts and
ideas and share them without any unreasonable hurdle. In the scheme of
Constitution of India this freedom is enshrined in the most important part
relating to the ‘Fundamental rights of the citizen’. And notably, the rights
guaranteed under the Indian Constitution as fundamental rights, are very
much corresponding to the Human rights of the individuals which were
declared universally through the ‘Universal declaration of Human Rights’.

Freedom of speech, considered the basic freedom by most philosophical

thinkers, consists of several facets, including the right to express one’s
opinion unhindered, unfettered by the fear of retribution. It is one of the
most basic elements for a healthy, open minded democracy. It allows
people to freely participate in the social and political happenings of their
country.

In Romesh Thappar v Union of India, Justice Patanjali has rightfully held that
19(1)(g) is the very basis and essence of the constitution and our democracy.
Reasonable restrictions, however, he noted, should be such that others’
rights should not be hindered or affected by the acts of one man.

Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution of India guarantees to all its citizens the
right to freedom of speech and expression. The law states that, “all citizens
shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression”.

Under Article 19(2) “reasonable restrictions can be imposed on the exercise

of this right for certain purposes. Any limitation on the exercise of the right
under Article 19(1) (a) not falling within the four corners of Article 19(2)
cannot be valid.

The freedom of speech under Article 19(1) (a) includes the right to express
one’s views and opinions at any issue through any medium, e.g. by words of
mouth, writing, printing, picture, film, movie etc. It thus includes the
freedom of communication and the right to propagate or publish opinion.
But this right is subject to reasonable restrictions being imposed under
Article 19(2). Free expression cannot be equated or confused with a license
to make unfounded and irresponsible allegations against the judiciary.
MEANING AND SCOPE

This right is available only to a citizen of India and not to foreign nationals.
This right is, however, not absolute and it allows Government to frame laws
to impose reasonable restrictions in the interest of sovereignty and integrity
of India, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public
order, decency and morality and contempt of court, defamation and
incitement to an offence.

The freedom of speech and expression includes liberty to propagate not

one's views only. It also includes the right to propagate or publish the views
of other people; otherwise this freedom would not include the freedom of
press.

Freedom of expression has four broad special purposes to serve:

1) It helps an individual to attain self-fulfillment.

2) It assists in the discovery of truth.

3) It strengthens the capacity of an individual in participating in decision-

making.

4) It provides a mechanism by which it would be possible to establish a

reasonable balance between stability and social change.

5) All members of society would be able to form their own beliefs and
communicate them freely to others.

However Article 19(2) of the Constitution provides that this right is not
absolute and ‘reasonable restrictions’ may be imposed on the exercise of
this right for certain purposes. The right to freedom of expression includes
the right to express ones views and opinions on any issue and through any
medium whether it be in writing or by word of mouth.

Under the provisions of the Constitution of India, an individual as well as a

corporation can invoke freedom of speech arguments and other
fundamental rights against the State by way of a Writ Petition under Articles
32 and 226 of the Constitution of India subject to the State imposing some
permissible restrictions in the interests of social control.
Freedom of speech enjoys special position as far India is concerned. The
importance of freedom of expression and speech can be easily understand
by the fact that preamble of constitution itself ensures to all citizens inter
alia, liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship. The
constitutional significance of the freedom of speech consists in the Preamble
of Constitution and is transformed as fundamental and human right in
Article 19(1) (a) as “freedom of speech and expression”.

Explaining the scope of freedom of speech and expression Supreme Court

has said that the words “freedom of speech and expression” must be
broadly constructed to include the freedom to circulate one’s views by
words of mouth or in writing or through audiovisual instrumentalities.
Freedom of Speech and expression means the right to express one’s own
convictions and opinions freely by words of mouth, writing, printing,
pictures or any other mode. It thus includes the expression of one’s idea
through any communicable medium or visible representation.

RIGHT TO KNOW AND OBTAIN INFORMATION

Article 21 enshrine ‘right to life and a person liberty’ are compendious term
which include within themselves variety of right and attributes. Some of
them are also found in article 19 and thus have two sources at the same
time. In R.P Ltd v Indian express news paper the SC reads right to know in
article 21. The SC held that right to know is a necessary ingredient of
participatory democracy. In view of translational development when
distance are shrinking international communities are coming together for
cooperation in various sphere and they are moving toward the global
preparative in various field including human right ,the expression liberty
must receive and expanded meaning .

The Supreme Court is limited mere absence of bodily restrain. It is wide

enough to expand full range of right to hold a particular opinion and right
to sustain and nurture that opinion Article 21 confer on all person a right to
know which include right o receive information. The ambit and scope of
article 21 is much wider as compared to article 19(1)(a).

Thus the court are required expand it scope by the way of judicial activism.
In PUCL v UOI, the supreme court observed that fundamental right
themselves have no fixed content, most of them are empty vessel into which
each generation must pour its content in the light of its experience .The
attempt of the court should be to expand the reach and ambit of the
fundamental right by the process of judicial interpretation. There cannot be
any discrimination between fundamental right mention in chapter III of the
constitution and the declaration of such right on the basis of judgment
render by supreme court.

RIGHT TO KNOW LAWS HELPS TO IMPROVE THE EFFICIENT FUNCTIONING OF THE

MARKET. ARMED WITH BETTER INFORMATION, CONSUMER CAN MAKE INFORMED
DECISION, AND PRESS FOR SAFER PRODUCTS. BETTER INFORMED WORKER CAN
NEGOTIATE FOR LESS TOXIC WORKING CONDITIONS, OR DEMAND WAGES PREMIUMS

FOR HAZARDOUS JOBS . INVESTOR IN SECURITIES MARKET CAN ACT MORE

KNOWLEDGEABLY; INDEED , STUDIES SHOWS THAT STOCK PRICES SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE

RELEASE OF ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION ; UPWARD WHEN INFORMATION REVEALS A

FIRM’S SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE; DOWNWARD WHEN POOR PERFORMANCE IS

REVEALED .

RIGHT TO KNOW LAWS ALSO SERVE FUNDAMENTAL LIBERTY AND AUTONOMY INTEREST.
THEY PROVIDE INDIVIDUALS WITH KNOWLEDGE OF THE RISK INVOLVED IN THEIR CHOICE
AND ALLOW THEM TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT ENCOUNTER THESE RISKS.

Right to know laws also promote a democratic decision making and

the power of ordinary citizens. Equipped with better information,
citizens can participate on a more equal footing it regulated entities
permitting, land use and other political decisions. Lo cal resident and
member of the public can exert pressure on firm to reduce risky
activities or eliminate unnecessary toxic exposures. Right to know
laws also can improve health and safety, by facilitating emergency
planning, avoiding accidents, and helping the government
determine area In need of additional regulation.

They also provide strong incentive for firm to undertake self -

regulation and reduce risky activities; when companies face a choice
between, say , disclosing harmful substances in their produ ct and
reformulating the product to eliminating the harmful substances,
often they chose to eliminate the substances.

The Right to Information Act, 2005 got the assent of the President of India
on 15.6.2005 and was published in The Gazette of India on 21.6.2005. It
applies to whole of the country except the State of J&K w.e.f 15th June,
2005. The West Bengal Right to Information Rules, 2006 were framed by the
Administrative Reforms Cell of Personnel and Administrative Reforms
Department of Government of West Bengal and published in the Kolkata
Gazette Extraordinary on 29.3.2006.

The RTI Act, 2005 is the culmination of responses generated at different

corners of the country including the Government at the Centre, to people's
demand for right to know initiated by Mazdur Kisan Shakti Sangathan in
1990 in a sleepy village named Devdungri of Rajasmand district of central
Rajasthan. From 1997 onwards in several landmark judgments Supreme
Court of India and High Courts of different States observed that Articles 19(1)
and 21 of Constitution of India, i.e., right to freedom of speech and
expression and right to life and liberty include right to information. Right to
live loses much of its meaning if a citizen's right to information is denied.
Voters Have Right to Know About their Candidates

In a landmark judgment in Union of India v. Association for Democratic

Reforms4, a three judge bench held that the amended Electoral Reforms
Law passed by Parliament is unconstitutional as being volatile of citizen’s
right to know under Art. 19(1)(g).

Constitutional Aspect of Right To Information

Article 19(1)(a) of the constitution guarantees the fundamental right to free

speech and expression. The prerequisite for enjoying this right is knowledge
and information. The absence of authentic information on matter of public
interest will only encourage wild rumors and speculation and avoidable
allegation against individuals and institutions. Therefore, the Right to
Information becomes a constitutional right, being an aspect of the right to
free speech and expression which includes the right to receive and collect
information. This will also help the citizen perform their fundamental duties
as set out in article 51A of the Indian constitution. A fully performance of
these duties. Thus access to information would assist citizen in fulfilling these
obligations.

Right To Information In Not Absolute

 As no right can be absolute, the Right to Information has to have its

limitations. There will always be area of information that should remain
protected in public and national interest. Moreover, this unrestricted
 right can have an adverse effect of an overload of demand on
administration. So the information has to be the properly, clearly
classified by an appropriate authority.

The usual exemption permitting Government to with hold access to

information is generally in respect of the these matters;
1) International relations and national security
2) Law enforcement and prevention of crime
3) Internal deliberations of the government
4) Information obtained in confidence from some source outside the
Government
5) Information which, if disclosed , would violate the privacy of an
individuals
6) Information, particularly of an economic nature when disclosed,
would confer an unfair advantage on some person or object or
government
7) Information which is covered by legal / professional privilege, like
communication between a legal advisor and his client and
8) Information about scientific discoveries and invention and
improvements, essentially in field of weapons.

The Right to Information has already received judicial recognition as a part

of the fundamental right to free speech and expression. An Act is needed to
provide a statutory frame work for this right. This law will lay down the
procedure for translating this right into reality. Information is indispensable
for the functioning of a true democracy. People have to be kept informed
about current affairs and broad issues political, social and economic. Free
exchange of ideas and free debate are essentially desirable for the
Government of a free country.
Right to know is also closely linked with other basic rights such as freedom
of speech and expression and right to education. Its independent existence
as an attribute of liberty cannot be disputed. Viewed from this angle,
information or knowledge becomes an important resource. An equitable
access to this resource must be guaranteed.

DIFFRENCE BETWEEN RIGHT TO KNOW AND RIGHT TO

INFORMATION

RTI is a legal right as it is available to the citizen of India by law made by

Parliament of India, RTI Act 2005. On the other hand fundamental rights are
those rights which are granted to citizen by the constitution of India and
you can directly approach Supreme court or High court of concerned states
through various writ petitions upon encroachment. On the encroachment of
Right to Information, one cannot approach directly Supreme Court or High
Court.

GROUNDS OF RESTRICTION

Clause (2) of Article 19 contains the grounds on which restrictions on the

freedom of speech and expression can be imposed-

1) Security of State: Under Article 19(2) reasonable restrictions can be

imposed on freedom of speech and expression in the interest of security of
State. The term "security of state" refers only to serious and aggravated
forms of public order e.g. rebellion, waging war against the State,
insurrection and not ordinary breaches of public order and public safety,
e.g. unlawful assembly, riot, affray. Thus speeches or expression on the part
of an individual, which incite to or encourage the commission of violent
crimes, such as, murder are matters, which would undermine the security of
State.

2) Friendly relations with foreign states: This ground was added by the
constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951. The object behind the provision is
to prohibit unrestrained malicious propaganda against a foreign friendly
state, which may jeopardise the maintainance of good relations between
India, and that state. No similar provision is present in any other
Constitution of the world. In India, the Foreign Relations Act, (XII of 1932)
provides punishment for libel by Indian citizens against foreign
3) Public Order: This ground was added by the Constitution (First
Amendment) Act. 'Public order' is an expression of wide connotation and
signifies "that state of tranquility which prevails among the members of
political society as a result of internal regulations enforced by the
Government which they have established."

Public order is something more than ordinary maintenance of law and

order. 'Public order' is synonymous with public peace, safety and tranquility.

4) Decency or morality: The words 'morality or decency' are words of wide

meaning. Sections 292 to 294 of the Indian Penal Code provide instances of
restrictions on the freedom of speech and expression in the interest of
decency or morality. These sections prohibit the sale or distribution or
exhibition of obscene words, etc. in public places. No fix standard is laid
down till now as to what is moral and indecent. The standard of morality
varies from time to time and from place to place.

5) Contempt of Court: Restriction on the freedom of speech and expression

can be imposed if it exceeds the reasonable and fair limit and amounts to
contempt of court. According to the Section 2 'Contempt of court' may be
either 'civil contempt' or 'criminal contempt.'

6) Defamation: A statement, which injures a man's reputation, amounts to

defamation. Defamation consists in exposing a man to hatred, ridicule, or
contempt. The civil law in relating to defamation is still uncodified in India
and subject to certain exceptions.

7) Incitement to an offence: This ground was also added by the constitution

(First Amendment) Act, 1951. Obviously, freedom of speech and expression
cannot confer a right to incite people to commit offence. The word 'offence'
is defined as any act or omission made punishable by law for the time being
in force.

8) Sedition: As understood by English law, sedition embraces all those

practices whether by words, or writing which are calculated to disturb the
tranquility of the State and lead ignorant person to subvert the government.
It should be noted that the sedition is not mentioned in clause (2) of Art. 19
as one of the grounds on which restrictions on freedom of speech and
expression may be imposed.

Conclusion

From this article it can be easily concluded that right to freedom of speech
and expression is one of the most important fundamental right. It includes
circulating one's views by words or in writing or through audiovisual
instrumentalities, through advertisements and through any other
communication channel. It also comprises of right to information, freedom
of press etc. Thus this fundamental right has a vast scope.

From the above case law analysis it is evident that the Court has always
placed a broad interpretation on the value and content of Article 19(1)(a),
making it subjective only to the restrictions permissible under Article 19(2).
Efforts by intolerant authorities to curb or suffocate this freedom have
always been firmly repelled, more so when public authorities have betrayed
autocratic tendencies.
It can also be comprehended that public order holds a lot of significance as
a ground of restriction on this fundamental right. But there should be
reasonable and proper nexus or relationship between the restriction and
achievement of public order. The words 'in the interest of public order'
include not only utterances as are directly intended to lead to disorder but
also those that have the tendency to lead to disorder.