INDIAN EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS (BOMBAY) PRIVATE LTD. & ORS. ETC. ETC. versus UNION OF INDIA & ORS. ETC. ETC .

Citation: [1985] 2 S.C.R. 287 · Decided: 06-12-1984 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: O. CHINNAPPA REDDY · Disposal: Case Allowed

Cited by 27 judgment(s) · cites 9 · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

• 
INDIAN EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS (BOMBAY) 
PRIV.ATE LTD. & ORS. ETC. ETC. 
v. 
UNION OF INDIA & ORS. ETC. ETC . 
December 6, 1984 
287 
[0. CHINNAPPA REDDY, A.P. SEN AND E.S. VENKATARAMIAH, JJ .) 
· Constitution of India 1950, Article 19(1)(a)-Freedom of speech and expres. 
,ion-Whether includes Freedom of press-Restrictions other than those tn Article 
19~2)-Whether reasonable-Interference in the name of Public Interest-Whether 
Justified. 
Roll of PreSJ and Newspaperr-Duty of Court to held the balance even and 
to strike down any unconstitutional invasion of press. 
fandamental rights under Article J9(J)(a) and (g)-Whether different from 
right conferred by First Amendment to American Constitution. 
Article J3(3)(a)-Notification under section 25 Customs Act 1962-Contrary 
to fundamental rights-Whether to be struck down. 
Article 14-Classijication a/ newspapers for levying customs duty-Whether 
discriminatory. 
Article 41-Duty of State to encourage education of mas1es through media 
of pm•-Necesslty of. 
Entry 87 and 93, List 1. Seventh Schedule-Newspaper Industry-Levy of 
tax-Competency of Parliament to enact laws-Scrutiny by Courts When arises 
-Tax transgressing into the field of freedom of speech and expression and stifles 
that freedom-Whether unconstitutional. 
B 
c 
D 
F 
Article 32-Validity of tax-Duty of Court-Not to be burdensome-New1.. 
G 
paper Industsy not to be sif,gled out-Custom Duty on newspaper-Whether tax 
on know/edge-People's right to know-Imposition of tax-Government to be more 
cautious. 
Interpretation of statuteJ : 
Co111tltutlon of India 1950, Article 19(/)(al-l•terpretation of-American 
H 
A 
B 
D 
E 
F 
G 
H 
288 
SUPRBl.tll COURT REPORTS 
[1985] 2 S.C.11.. 
cases-Whether sole guide-Help In understaMlng the ba&ic principles of frtetfom 
of 1peech and expre11lon. 
Statutes Taxing Newsprint-Tests for determining vires of-Different from 
other taxing statutes-Grounds of challenge . . 
Customs Act/ 1962, Settion '25-Power to grant exemption-Whether 
legislative power-Whether 
notlfi~ation a Subordinate plece. of legislation -
Whether questi'onab/e on the Kround of unreasonableness-Power of Govr",.nment 
· di1cTetionary but not unrestricted. 
' 
Customs Act, 1962, Section 25-Notification Substitution of by another--
Whether former notification would rerire if the latter is held inra/id. 
Customs Tariff Act, 1975, Section 2 and Seco•d Schedule Heading 48.01/21 
-Sub-heading 2-Newsprint-lmport duty and auxiliary levy at a flat rate--
Validity of. 
Under the Indian) Tariff Act. 1934, there was a levy of customs duty on 
imPQrted.!lllper. Exemption, however, had been granted for import of white, 
grey or unglazed newsprint from the levy of any kind of cus\oms duty in excess 
of !.5% ad vaforem but subsequently a specific import duty of Rs. 50 per MT 
was levied on newsprint imports upto 1966. The Inquiry Committee on Small 
Newspapers examined the question of customs duty on newsprint and Sl!bmitted 
its report in 1965 recommending total exem~tion of newsp;int from Customs 
duty. Pnrsilant to the said recommendation, the Government abolished 
customs duty on newaprint altogeth<:r in the year 1966. In 1971, a rogutatoey 
duty of2·1/2% wa1 levied on newsprint imports. This 2-1/2% regulatory duty 
· was abolished and was converted into 5 % auxiliary duty by the Finance Act of 
1973. On the Customs Tariff Act 1975 coming into force, the Indian Tariff 
Act 1934 was repealed. Under aection 2 read with Heading No. 48.01/21 of 
the Fit11t Schedule to the 197S Act, a levy of basic customa duty of.40% ad 
valorem was imposed on newsprint. However, the 5% auxiliary duty ,levied from 
April I, 1973 continued to be in OP,eration which was also totally abolished in 
July 1977. The total exemption from customs duty on newsprint continued 
till March J, 1981 when notification dated July 15, 1977 granting total exemp-. 
tion from customs duty superseded by the issue of a fresh notification under 
which publishers oi newspapers had to pay 10% ad va/orem customs duty on 
import~rnewsprint. By another notification issued at about the same time the 
auxiliai:y duty imposed by the Finance Act of 1981 above 5% ad 1•a/orem was 
exempted in the case of newsprint.· The result was that a total duty ·of 15% 
adv4lorem came to be imposed on newsprint for the year 1981·82, which led 
to the increase in the price of newspaper resulting in fall in circulation of news .. 
papers. In the first set of writ petitions this 15% levy was c

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