national law university and judicial academy, assam
programme: b.a., ll.b (hons)fyic
details of course offered
even semester (viii)– academic year :…………….
sl. course l t p cr ch
course code
no title
1 BL804.6 HEALTH 4 1 4
CONSTITUTIONAL & MEDIA Per Per
LAW, LAW week week
OP-IV-
a. CODE AND TITLE OFTHE COURSE: bl804.6,
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, OPTIONAL PAPER- IV, HEALTH &
MEDIA LAW - II
b. COURSE CREDIT: 4 (TOTAL MARKS 200)
c. MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION: ENGLISH
d. COURSE COMPILED BY: HIMANGSHU RANJAN NATH
e. COURSE INSTRUCTOR: kANGKANA gOSWAMI, nIHAAL
CHETRI
1. COURSE OBJECTIVES
i. Media laws in India have a long history and are deeply rooted in the country’s
colonial experience under British rule. The earliest regulatory measures can be
traced back to 1799 when Lord Wellesley promulgated the Press Regulations,
which had the effect of imposing pre-censorship on an infant newspaper
publishing industry. However, the most significant day in the history of Media
Regulations was the 26th of January 1950 – the day on which the Constitution
was brought into force. The colonial experience of the Indians made them
realise the crucial significance of the ‘Freedom of Press’. Such freedom was
therefore incorporated in the Constitution; however, impliedly to empower the
Press to disseminate knowledge to the masses.
The solemn object of this course is to analyse the laws, rules and regulations
governing mass-media in India and to provide students an opportunity to
assess the same.
ii. In the Health law curriculum, the students are introduced Specific ethical
issues within health law regime like Euthanasia, Medical termination of
Pregnancy etc.
iii. The course will also provide students an insight into the Competing theoretical
positions in Medical Ethics and to the legal framework dealing with Medical
ethics.
2. TEACHING METHODOLOGY
This course is designed to bring the best of analytical aptitude in the students and to
provide them best opportunity to make their ability to link theory with practical
context. The teaching methodology shall be participatory teaching with discussions on
constitutional norms, principles, doctrines, precedents and statutory laws relating to
the subject. The students will be informed in advance about the topic of discussion,
project and assignment. They are suggested to prepare their assignments from the
sources suggested and are encouraged to research independently from other authentic
sources. The students are required to present their assigned topic in the class room and
the teacher will summarize the same, welcome questions and present critical
reflection if any. Further, for greater interest of the students, it has been proposed to
take weekly class tests in the classroom after completion of a topic included in the
course content.
3. COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES
i. Further, after completing the course the students are expected to
understand the structure, composition, powers and functions of the
authorities that regulates media in India. The students would be immensely
benefited in their individual life as well as for practising in the court by
well acquitting with the limits of media in advertising.
ii. By the end of this course students will be equipped with philosophical
tools to deal with various specific ethical issues in health
iii. The course will help in acquainting a student with various theoretical
positions and legislative mechanisms with respect to medical ethics.
iv. A diligent student should, therefore, on completion of this course have an
advantage in beginning a career within the domain of health laws to be
able to then proceed into having expertise this field later in their lives.
4. COURSE EVALUATION METHOD
The course shall be assessed for 200 marks.
The Evaluation scheme would be as follows:
Sl. Marks Distribution
No.
1 Seminar Paper 60 marks
2 Seminar Paper presentation 30 marks
3 Moot Memorial 50 marks
4 Moot Oral 50 marks
5 Attendance in class 10 marks
Total 200 marks
5. detailed structure of the course
(specifying course modules and sub-
modules)
MODULE I
Media – Regulatory Framework II
Other Legislative Efforts – The Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867,
Registration of Newspapers (Central) Rules, 1956, The Newspaper (Prices and
Pages) Act, 1956, The Delivery of Books and Newspapers (Public Libraries) Act,
1954, Prashar Bharti Act, 1990, Copyright Act, 1957, The Young Persons
(Harmful Publications) Act, 1956, Cinematography Act, 1952, Cable TV Networks
(Regulation) Act, 1995, The Standards of Quality of Service (Broadcasting and
Cable Services) Regulation, 2006, The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act,
1997, The Telecommunication Consumers Education and Protection Fund
Regulations, 2007
MODULE II
Media – Advertisement & Emerging Trends
1. Media and Advertisement – Concept of Advertisement, Advertisement &
Ethics, The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act,
1954, Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986, The
Competition Act, 2002
2. The New Media of Internet – Evolution of Internet as New Media, Social
Media, Information Technology Act, 2000, Other Regulatory Measures
MODULE III
Specific Health Law and Ethical issues:
Assisted Reproduction, Reproductive Technology (Surrogacy), Euthanasia,
Medical Termination of Pregnancy, Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques and Law,
Human Organ Transplantation.
MODULE IV
Medical Ethics:
Theoretical Approaches to Medical Ethics, Informed Consent, Full Disclosure,
Confidentiality, Public Interest, Human Dignity etc., The Indian Medical Council
(Professional conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, Declaration of
Geneva, 1948.
6. PRESCRIBED READINGS
1. Basu, Dr. Durga Das, Law of The Press, 5th Edn., Lexis Nexis, Haryana, 2010
2. Bloy, Duncan & Hadwin, Sara, Law and the Media, 2nd Edn., Sweet & Maxwell,
London, 2013
3. Carey, Peter, Media Law, 2nd Edition, Sweet & Maxwell, London 1996
4. Divan, Madhavi Goradia, Facets of Media Law, Eastern Book Company,
Lucknow, 2010
5. Gallant & Epworth, Media Law: A Practical Guide to Managing Publication
Risks, Sweet & Maxwell, London, 2000
6. Iyer, V. R. Krishna and Sethi, Vinod, Essays on Press Freedom, Capital
Foundation Society, New Delhi, 1996
7. Iyerass, Venkat, Media Laws And Regulations in India; 1st Edition, Bahri Sons
(India Research Press), New Delhi, 2000
8. Jethmalani, Ram and Chopra, D. S., Cases and Materials on Media Law, 1st
Edition, Thomson Reuters, New Delhi, 2012
9. Paul, Sebastian, Ethics and The Media, 3rd Edition, Lexis Nexis, Haryana, 2015
10. Prasad, Kiran, Media Law in India, Kluwer Law International, Netherlands, 2011
11. Price, Monroe Edwin, & Verhulst, Stefaan G., Broadcasting Reform in India:
Media Law from a Global Perspective, Oxford University Press, London, 2001
12. Shukla, V.N., Constitution of India, 11th Edition, Eastern Book Company,
Lucknow, 2011
13. Sorabjee, Soli J., Constitution, Courts and Freedom of the Press and the Media,
B.N. Tirpak et al (eds.), Supreme But Not Infallible : Essays In Honour Of The
Supreme Court of India, Universal Law Publication, New Delhi, 2000
