Composition of the Council
Section 5 of the Press Council Act, 1978 deals with composition of the Council. The Council shall consist of a Chairman and twenty-eight other members. The Act came into force on 07 Sep 1978.
(1) The Council shall consist of a Chairman and twenty-eight other members.
(2) The Chairman shall be a person nominated by a Committee consisting of the Chairman of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), the Speaker of the House of the People (Lok Sabha) and a person elected by the members of the Council under sub-section (6) and the nomination so made shall take effect from the date on which it is notified by the Central Government in the Official Gazette.
(3) Of the other members--
(a) thirteen shall be nominated in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed from among the working journalists, of whom six shall be editors of newspapers and the remaining seven shall be working journalists other than editors; so, however, that the number of such editors and working journalists other than editors in relation newspapers published in Indian languages shall be not less than three and four respectively;
(b) six shall be nominated in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed from among persons who own or carry on the business of management of newspapers, so, however, that there shall be two representatives from each of the categories of big newspapers, medium newspapers and small newspapers;
(c) one shall nominated in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed from among persons who manage news agencies;
(d) three shall be persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of education and science, law, and literature and culture of whom respectively one shall be nominated by the University Grants Commission, one by the Bar Council of India and one by the Sahitya Academy;
(e) five shall be members of Parliament of whom three shall be nominated by the Speaker from among the members of the House of the People (Lok Sabha) and two shall be nominated by the Chairman of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) from among its members:
Provided that no working journalist who owns, or carries on the business of management of, any newspaper shall eligible for nomination under clause (a):
Provided further that the nominations under clause (a) and clause (b) shall be so made that among the persons nominated there is not more than one person interested in any newspaper or group of newspapers under the same control of management.
1[Explanation.--For the purposes of clause (b), a "newspaper" shall be deemed to be categorised as big, medium or small newspaper on the basis of its circulation per issue, as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, notify from time to time.]
(4) Before making any nomination under clause (a), clause (b) or clause (c) sub-section (3), the Central Government in the case of the first Council and the retiring Chairman of the previous Council in the case of any subsequent Council shall, in the prescribed manner, invite panels of names comprising twice the number of members to be nominated from such associations of persons of the categories referred to in the said clause (a), clause (b) or clause (c) as may be notified in this behalf by the Central Government in the case of the first Council and by the Council itself in the case of subsequent Councils:
Provided that where there is no association of persons of the category referred to in the said clause (c), the panels of names shall be invited from such news agencies as may be notified as aforesaid.
(5) The Central Government shall notify the names of persons nominated as members under sub-section (3) in the Official Gazette and every such nomination shall take effect from the date on which it is notified.
(6) The members of the Council notified under sub-section (5) shall elect from among themselves in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed, a person to be a member of the Committee referred to in sub-section (2) and a meeting of the members of the Council for the purpose of such election shall be prescribed over by a person chosen from among themselves.
Section 5, The Press Council Act, 1978 (Act 37 of 1978).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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All India Small & Medium Newspapers Federation v. Press Council of India
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Press Council Act s.5(4) notification of associations for nomination panels under s.5(3)(b) must follow the claim criteria in the Council notice; entertaining a time-barred incomplete rival claim to deny recognition of a long-recognised association is unsustainable. Notification/letter rejecting AISMN recognition set aside. DATE VERIFIED Final Order 2004-01-16 (order-1.pdf).
On this section: Court set aside non-recognition under s.5(4)/5(3)(b) association notification process.
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… Hon'ble Rajendra Kumar-IV,J. 1. Heard Sri Vijay Kumar Sharma, learned Counsel for petitioners and Sri Dhruv Kant Chaturvedi, learned Counsel for Union of India. 2. Petitioners seek mandamus commanding respondents to issue notification including the names of petitioners 1 and 2, under Section 5(5) of the Press Council Act, 1978 read with Procedure for Nomination of Members Rules, 1979. 3. Notification requires to be issued under the aforesaid provisions is a kind of legislative exercise. Court cannot issue a direction to legislate. This aspect has been settled in Union of India & ors Vs. Parul Debnath …
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… To be referred to the Reporter or not? Yes - 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in Digest? Yes BADAR DURREZ AHMED, J 1. This petition relates to the non-recognition of the petitioner (All India Small and Medium Newspapers Federation, New Delhi) for notification as an association under Section 5 (4) of the Press Council Act, 1978 CW1465.2001 Pul Page I of 15 Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed By: AMULYA Certify that the digitar file and physical file have been compared and the digital data is as per the physical file and no page is missing. Š 9 0 (19) (hereinafter referred to as 'the said …
Made under this section, and citing it
1 instrument states that it was made under this provision — the power to make it comes from here, so a change to any of them changes what this section requires in practice. Newest first.
Another 1 instrument names this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.
Questions about Section 5
What have the courts held on Section 5 of the Press Council Act?
All India Small & Medium Newspapers Federation v. Press Council of India (16 Jan 2004) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Court set aside non-recognition under s.5(4)/5(3)(b) association notification process.
How do I find court cases under Section 5 of the Press Council Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Press Council Act 1978 5, section 5 Press Council Act 1978, section 5 of the Press Council Act. People searching for it also type section 5 of press council act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with All India Small & Medium Newspapers Federation v. Press Council of India (16 Jan 2004).
What should I read with Section 5 of the Press Council Act, and has it changed?
3 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. The rules and notifications made under it are where it actually bites, and there is one: most recently The Press Council (Procedure for Notification of Associations of Persons) Rules, 2021 (2021).
When did Section 5 of the Press Council Act come into force?
Section 5 of the Press Council Act, cited as Press Council Act 1978 5, came into force on 07 Sep 1978, having been enacted on 07 Sep 1978. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 13. Objects and functions of the Council424 words
- 25. Power to make rules398 words
- 6. Term of office and retirement of members309 words
- 14. Power to censure293 words
- 26. Power to make regulations280 words
- 15. General powers of the Council234 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.