Right to Circulate:

Right to Circulate: Freedom of the press takes within its fold a number of rights and one such right is the freedom of publication. Publication also means dissemination and circulation; indeed, without circulation, publication would be of little value, vide Romesh Thappar; Sakal Papers (P) Ltd. vs. Union of India, A.I.R. 1962 SC 305 (“Sakal Papers (P) Ltd.”). 31 In Life Insurance Corporation vs. Prof. Manubhai D. Shah, (1992) 3 SCC 637 (“Prof. Manubhai D. Shah”) this Court reiterated that the freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) must be understood to take within its ambit the freedom to circulate one’s view. That such circulation could be by word of mouth, in writing or through audio-visual media. The freedom to ‘air one’s view’ was declared as a “lifeline of any democratic institution” and the Court expressed strong criticism at any attempt aimed at stifling or suffocating the right to circulation. In the said case, the appeals concerned separate instances of state-controlled entities (LIC and Doordarshan) refusing to publish or broadcast work that criticized the government. The Court reasoned that government-controlled means of publication have a greater burden to recognize an individual’s right to defend themselves and if a state censors content, then it is obligated to provide reasons valid in law. That when a state-controlled entity refuses to circulate through its magazine or other platform, one’s views, including one’s defence, the right to circulate is violated. This Court has therefore, on several occasions recognised the right to circulation, as a facet of the right to freedom of speech. The right to circulation includes, the right to optimise/maximise the volume of such circulation and also determine the content and reach thereof