India’s Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur has said that though the proposed amendments in the Cinematograph Act attempts to address issues like piracy and expanding age-based classifications, a final view on the stakeholders’ suggestions hasn’t yet been taken by the government.

“Various comments have been received from the stakeholders and members of the public regarding the proposed amendments. The proposal is at consultation stage and no final view has been formed,” Thakur informed Lok Sabha (Lower House) on Tuesday.

The government introduced the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) in February 2019 to impose strict penalties against unauthorized duplication of films in cinema halls. The Standing Committee on Information Technology (2019-20) presented its Report on the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha in March 2020.

The recommendations/ observations contained in the Report of the Standing Committee on Information Technology have been examined for making necessary amendments to clauses in the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2019, the Minister said.

He was replying to a query from a fellow parliamentarian whether the government was aware that the proposition goes against the Supreme Court decision that said the government cannot weigh in on cases, which have already been reviewed and classified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

Amongst the several amendments suggested in the Bill, one relates to the power that the federal government could have — if the amendments go through the Parliament — to re-examine any certified film, which has obtained a valid certificate from the CBFC on the grounds of national interest.

Legal website mondaq.com in an analysis stated that the provisions of Article 19 (2) in the Indian Constitution are extremely broad and provide discretion to the central (federal) government without any recourse to the film industry.

The website critique further added that piracy is already a punishable crime under the Copyright Act. The 2021 Proposed Amendment introduces an additional and more onerous punishment to that of the Copyright Act. Perhaps it would be in good stead to include harmonious provisions in all relevant laws (akin to the standardized grievance redressal system being set up for OTTs, broadcasters and traditional news / digital news platforms) to avoid statute shopping and multiplicity of actions for the same offence.