Censorship must balance protection and freedom

The right to free speech is a cornerstone of democracy. In the absence of the right to communicate and express oneself freely, the very idea of democracy would be meaningless.

The Constitution of India recognizes the importance of free speech and expression, and enshrines these as fundamental rights of all citizens. A natural consequence of this right is that what a citizen conveys may not seem politically, socially or morally appropriate to all other citizens in society, and so the question of censorship arises.

Censorship is most commonly understood to mean control or restriction of the expression of ideas in published media, including art, literature and film. All freedoms granted under the constitution, including freedom of speech, are subject to reasonable restrictions. This concept is easy to explain, but its implementation is typically problematic and controversial.

Rahul Chaudhry was called to the bar in September 2002. He joined Lall Lahiri & Salhotra in January 2004 and became a partner just four years later. Along with the firm’s founding partners, Anuradha Salhotra and Amar Raj Lall, Chaudhry is regarded as one of the most prominent faces of IP management in India.