which act govern advertisement in india

What are the facts? What is the context?

Dear Querist,

There are several laws and acts governing advertisements in India. Some of them are listed below-

1. Press Council of India Act, 1978

2. Cable television regulation act, 1955 and Cable television amendment act, 2006

3. Establishment of the ASCI (Advertisment standard council of India), 1985

The ASCI was established as a non-statutory tribunal, it judges the advertisements based upon its Code of Advertising Practice, also known as the ASCI code.

Laws governing the advertisements are - 

1. The consumer protection Act, 1986 and advertising- The Section 6 of this Act grants consumers the right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods or services, as the case may be to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices.

2. The cable television network Act, 1995& the Cable Television Amendment Act, 2006 and advertising- Section 6 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulations) Act, 1995 provides that no person shall send or transmit through a cable service any advertisement unless such advertisement is in conformity with the advertisement code prescribed under the Cable Television Networks (Amendment) Rules, 2006.

3. Restrictions on advertising under the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply, and Distribution) Act, 2003- Section 5 of this Act, prohibits both direct & indirect advertisement of tobacco products in all forms of audio, visual and print media.

4. Advertising regulations under Drug and Magic Remedies Act, 1954 & Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940- This Act is for regulating the advertisements of drugs in certain cases and to prohibit the advertising for certain purposes of remedies.

5. Advertising restrictions under Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994 & Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act, 1956- Advertisement in any manner regarding facilities of pre-natal determination of s*x available at any genetic counselling centre, laboratory, clinic or any other place is prohibited under this Act and has been made a punishable offence under the Act.

6. The Indian Penal Code and criminality of advertisements

Regards,

Palak