Repeal and Amendment of Laws

NO: 9 - STATUS OF LAW COMMISSION REPORTS

REPORT NO: 159 - REPEAL AND AMENDMENT OF LAWS: PART I – PARA 3.14

THE CINEMATOGRAPH ACT, 1952

The Fifteenth Law Commission was constituted under the Chairmanship of Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy to study the views of Expert Groups/Departmental Committees for review of enactments administered and submitted a comprehensive report on the issue of “Repeal and Amendments of Law” to the then law minister on 28th July 1998.  The Report focussed on the need for the Repeal of certain Central Laws which have become obsolete n view of enactments of subsequent legislation, or laws which have become anomalous or out-dated given changing conditions, which, therefore needed to be repealed.

It is advised by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting that an Expert Committee under the Chairmanship of Justice Mukul Mudgal was constituted to look into various aspects of certification under the Act. The Committee submitted its report on 28.9.2013 along with a draft Cinematograph Bill. The recommendations of the Committee were examined in the Ministry in consultation with concerned stakeholders. The draft Cabinet Note on the introduction of the Cinematograph Bill has been forwarded to the concerned Ministries on 28.9.2015 for inter-ministerial consultation and the Legislative Department for pre-legislative consultation. In the meantime, another Committee of Experts under the Chairmanship of Shri Shyam Benegal was set up to evolve broad guidelines for certification within the ambit of Cinematograph Act & Rules.

The Committee submitted the first part of its Report in April 2016 and the final part in June 2016. To curb the menace of film piracy, the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2019 was introduced by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in the Rajya Sabha on 12th February 2019 after getting approval of the Union Cabinet on 6th February 2019. The Bill proposes to amend the Cinematograph Act, 1952 by the inclusion of penal provisions for unauthorized duplication of films. The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2019 was referred to the Standing Committee on Information Technology by the Speaker, Lok Sabha in consultation with the Chairman, Rajya Sabha on 04.10.2019 for examination and report within two months. The Committee presented its Report on Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha on 16th March 2020.

PRESENT STATUS

About Para. 3.14 of the said report, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has advised that:

"Regarding the Cinematograph Act, 1952 it is stated that the amendments have already been introduced and are now pending in the Rajya Sabha"

CONCLUSION

It is advised that the recommendations of the Committee are being examined in the Ministry. Further, the recommendations/observations in the Report of the Standing Committee on Information Technology are being examined in the Ministry for making a necessary amendment to clauses in the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2019 introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 12.02.2019.

Since the proposed amended legislation is with the house of Rajya Sabha, the status of relevant portion Law Commission Report No.159 about the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting is taken as "Pending."