Media Law Complete Course in English by Law Easy: one full lecture (2 hours 57 minutes) covering all five units of Media Law for Indian law students. You will learn how the press won its freedom, how Article 19(1)(a) and Article 19(2) protect and limit media freedom, and how courts decide cases on obscenity, defamation, media trials and contempt of court. The lecture then covers film certification, broadcasting and OTT regulation, advertising law, and media ethics including privacy, deepfakes and sting operations. Every important case is explained with its facts, the question before the court, the decision and the principle.
Useful for LL.B. and university law examinations, CLAT PG, UGC NET Law and Judiciary examinations.
WHAT THIS LECTURE COVERS
Unit 1: History of media and press freedom, the Fourth Estate, theories of free speech, World Press Freedom Index, history of the press in India.
Unit 2: Media under the Indian Constitution, Article 19(1)(a), the eight grounds in Article 19(2), tests of reasonableness, and the newspaper cases (Express Newspapers, Sakal Papers, Bennett Coleman).
Unit 3: Obscenity (B.N.S. Sections 294 to 296, I.T. Act Sections 67 and 67A), civil and criminal defamation (B.N.S. Section 356, B.N.S.S. Section 222), SLAPP suits, open justice, media trials, and contempt of court under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.
Unit 4: Cinematograph Act and the CBFC, heckler's veto, broadcasting law, Press Council of India and NBDSA, OTT regulation under the I.T. Rules, 2021, advertising law, Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and ASCI.
Unit 5: Media ethics, privacy and sensationalism, misinformation, deepfakes, surveillance, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and ethical decision-making.
KEY PROVISIONS DISCUSSED
Article 19(1)(a) and Article 19(2) of the Constitution; Articles 129, 215 and 361A; B.N.S. Sections 72, 73, 152, 196, 294, 295, 296, 299, 353 and 356; B.N.S.S. Sections 222 and 366; Contempt of Courts Act, 1971; Cinematograph Act, 1952 (Section 5B); Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995; Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
IMPORTANT CASES DISCUSSED
Romesh Thappar v. State of Madras (1950), Express Newspapers v. Union of India (1958), Sakal Papers v. Union of India (1961), Bennett Coleman v. Union of India (1972), S. Rangarajan v. P. Jagjivan Ram (1989), Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (2015), Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India (2020), Ranjit D. Udeshi v. State of Maharashtra (1964), K.A. Abbas v. Union of India (1970), Aveek Sarkar v. State of West Bengal (2014), Apoorva Arora v. State (2024), R. Rajagopal v. State of Tamil Nadu (1994), Subramanian Swamy v. Union of India (2016), Sahara v. SEBI (2012), Nilesh Navalakha v. Union of India (2021), Rama Dayal Markarha v. State of Madhya Pradesh (1978), Tata Press v. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (1995), Indibility Creative v. Government of West Bengal (2019), Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017) and more.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Introduction to the Media Law Course
1:01 Unit 1: History and Evolution of Media and Press Freedom
4:25 Why Free Speech Matters
7:46 Four Theories of the Press
10:03 World Press Freedom Index
13:16 History of the Press in India
18:26 Unit 2: Media under the Indian Constitution
19:34 Article 19(1)(a): What Press Freedom Includes
23:12 Article 19(2): Reasonable Restrictions
25:26 Tests of Reasonableness
28:24 Express Newspapers, Sakal Papers and Bennett Coleman
35:04 Unit 3: Introduction and Media in Criminal Law
37:47 Decency and Morality
38:13 Law of Obscenity: Hicklin to Apoorva Arora
1:04:07 Defamation
1:05:11 Civil and Criminal Defamation
1:06:51 Essential Ingredients of Defamation
1:09:39 Defences to Defamation
1:11:56 Responsible Journalism: Reynolds and Rajagopal
1:16:07 Criminal Defamation: Subramanian Swamy
1:17:34 SLAPP Suits
1:26:07 Defamatory Humour
1:28:20 Remedies for Defamation
1:30:14 Reporting Judicial Proceedings and Open Justice
1:37:26 Media Trials
1:39:20 Sahara Case: Postponement Orders
1:43:10 Contempt of Court
1:44:34 Contempt: Defences and Scandalising the Court
1:54:21 Unit 4: Advertisements, Film and Broadcast
1:54:39 Cinema Law and the CBFC
2:04:48 Heckler's Veto and Film Cases
2:16:17 Broadcasting Law
2:23:24 OTT Regulation
2:28:13 Advertisements and Commercial Speech
2:32:23 Statutory Regulation of Advertising
2:38:07 Comparative Advertising and Disparagement
2:42:16 Advertising Standards Council of India
2:44:34 Unit 5: Media Ethics and Contemporary Issues
2:47:13 Privacy and Sensationalism
2:48:46 Misinformation, Deepfakes and Surveillance
2:53:14 Resolving Ethical Dilemmas and Sting Operations
2:56:46 Course Conclusion
FULL MEDIA LAW PLAYLIST (follow in order):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUJq33044b9M
Law quizzes, notes and more study resources:
https://www.thelaweasy.com
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