Freedom of Speech : Contemporary Challenges by Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Nariman.

Introduction

The lecture is the first of the Jitendra Desai Memorial Lecture series, which honors a man who dedicated his life to preserving and spreading Gandhian literature. The lecture is an initiative by the School of Journalism, part of Navajivan Institution.

Jitendra Desai's Legacy

• Jitendra Desai was a printing expert and renowned journalist who dedicated his life to preserving, protecting, and spreading Gandhian literature.

• He served Navajivan Institution for 52 years as a managing trustee.

• He made bold choices in matters of press freedom and copyright protection.

• He claimed that royalties from the film "Gandhi" should go to the copyright holder, not just the producer.

Navajivan Institution

• Navajivan Institution has provided licenses for Gandhi's autobiography in 17 Indian languages and more than 30 foreign languages.

• The institution has a gallery photo painting Gallery, printing press, photography printing press that runs on sales of Gandhi's works.

Rohinton Nariman's Life

This section provides an overview of Rohinton Nariman's life before he became a Supreme Court judge.

Early Life and Education

• Rohinton Nariman was born on August 13th, 1956. His father was a distinguished lawyer and his mother was known for her generosity.

• He received his early education at Cathedral and John Cannon School in Bombay before undergoing rigorous training as a Parsi priest.

• He completed his BCom from Shri Ram College of Commerce and LLB from Campus Law Faculty of Law University of Delhi, where he stood second in the batch.

• He went to Harvard School in the USA to do his Masters and wrote a thesis on a comparison between the Indian and U.S Constitution on treatment of blacks in America versus scheduled castes in India.

Legal Career

• Rohinton Nariman joined the bar in 1979 and was placed among the top 10 lawyers of the country by The Times of India.

• He was appointed Senior Counsel at the age of 37 when the age for Senior Counsel in Supreme Court was 45. The Chief Justice amended rules to accommodate him.

• He is an authority on Russian religion, Jainism, Western classical music, and Beethoven's life.

Introduction

The speaker dedicates the lecture to the memory of a late chief justice and introduces the topic of democracy and freedom of speech.

Dedication

• The speaker dedicates the lecture to the memory of Chief Justice Ahmadi who passed away on that day.

• Ahmadi was known for being extremely good to young people, including the speaker.

Introduction to Democracy and Freedom of Speech

• The topic of today's lecture concerns democracy at its core level.

• Many people assume that freedom of speech goes back to Magna Carta, but it actually comes down in the Anglo-Saxon world much later.

• Freedom of speech was first guaranteed in Parliament in 1689 with the Bill of Rights. It took another century for citizens to be given this right or for it to be recognized as against the state during the French Revolution.

• In 1789, two years after France's Declaration of Rights, the U.S Constitution had a Bill of Rights attached to it by its first amendment which spoke about freedom of speech in absolute terms against Congress.

History and Development

This section discusses how freedom of speech developed over time in England and India.

Development in England

• In 1689, freedom of speech was only guaranteed in Parliament through the Bill Of Rights.

• It took another century for citizens to be given this right or for it to be recognized as against the state during French Revolution.

• Two years later, US Constitution had a Bill Of Rights attached which spoke about freedom Of Speech in absolute terms against Congress.

Development in India

• In 1950 Indian constitution declared itself as a sovereign Democratic Republic with Universal adult franchise headed by an elected President Who is elected and not a monarch.

• Liberty Of Thought And Expression specifically mentioned also in Priyanka so armed with liberty of thought and expression our founding fathers laid down in article 191 a is the fundamental rights chapter or Chapter 3 of our constitution the fact that every Indian citizen shall have the freedom of speech and expression.

• At that time, speech and expression could be curbed only under Article 19(2) which originally stood as a peculiar article because the very next right spoken of was the freedom to assemble peaceably.

Limitations on Freedom of Speech

This section discusses limitations on freedom of speech in India.

Original Article 19(2)

• In 1950, Article 19(2) said a law could be made curbing speech provided it fell under four categories: security of State, definite defamation, decency or morality, and contempt of court.

Seminal Judgments

• In 1950 itself two judgments were laid down by our Supreme Court.

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