The government proposed to make film piracy a punishable offence.
In a Cabinet briefing today, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the Centre will introduce the Cinematograph Bill 2023 during the Monsoon session of Parliament. The minister said the bill is aimed at curbing film piracy.
In 2019, the Union Cabinet gave its approval to a proposal by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to make amendments to the Cinematograph Act, 1952, and introduce the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
The bill was brought to impose strict penalties for film piracy and curb the release of pirated versions which causes huge losses to the movie industry and the exchequer.
The government proposed to make film piracy a punishable offence that could attract imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh, or both.
After the Centre's approval, the bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha the same month. In 2021, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting brought the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2021, to "make the process of sanctioning of films for exhibition more effective, in tune with the changed times and curb the menace of piracy".
The ministry also invited public comments on the bill, which came shortly after the Film Certificate Appellate Tribunal was scrapped.
The ministry proposed several changes, including empowering the central government to override the film certification board and direct it to re-examine a film it has already cleared.
"Since the provisions of Section 5B (1) are derived from Article 19(2) of the Constitution that authorises the government to impose, reasonable restrictions on freedom of speech and expression in the interest of public order and are non-negotiable, it is also proposed in the Draft Bill to add a proviso to sub-section (1) of section 6 to the effect that on receipt of any references by the Central Government in respect of a film certified for public exhibition, on account of violation of Section 5B(1) of the Act, the Central Government may, if it considers it necessary so to do, direct the Chairman of the Board to re-examine the film," the notification read.
The bill also proposed to amend provisions related to the certification of films under "unrestricted public exhibition" to "further sub-divide the existing UA category into age-based categories - U/A 7+, U/A 13+, and U/A 16+."