Centre forms Committee to review Cinema Act

The Ministry of Info & Broadcasting has constituted a panel under the Chairmanship of Mukul Mudgal, Retired Chief Justice, High Court to examine issues of certification under the Cinematograph Act 1952.

The constitution of the Committee is as follows:

i) Mukul Mudgal, Retired Chief Justice, High Court of Punjab and Haryana – Chairperson;

ii) Lalit Bhasin,Chairperson, FCAT; 

iii) Sharmila Tagore, former Chairperson, CBFC; 

iv) Janab Javed Akhtar, renowned music composer, writer & lyricist; 

v) Leela Samson,Chairperson,CBFC; 

vi) L Suresh, Secretary, South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce and former President, Film Federation of India; 

vii) Rameeza Hakim, Advocate, Supreme Court of India. 

viii) Raghvendra Singh, Joint Secretary(Films), I&B-Member-Convenor.

The Terms of Reference of the Committee are as under:

I) Review the mandate and functioning of CBFC and recommend measures including statutory changes to enable CBFC to deal with contemporary requirements of certification and increased transparency / efficiency. Such issues, inter alia, may include :

a) The process of certification under the Act and Rules, including the mechanism followed by Examining and Revising Committees; 

b) Categories of certification, existing and proposed, under the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2013; 

c) Requirement of special categories of certification for the purposes of broadcasting on television channels and radio stations.

II) To review the mandate and functioning of Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) in order to make it a more efficacious appellate body; 

III) Examine the role of Central Government regarding sanctioning of cinematograph films for exhibition under Entry 60, List I of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India vis-à-vis Entry 33, List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India; 

IV) To suggest more effective legal remedies and penal provisions in the Act, particularly with reference to making unlawful copies, camcording in cinema halls, interpolation/insertion of clips after certification and such similar issues; and

V) Any other issues that the Committee may deem fit to deliberate upon.

The Committee may submit its report in two months from the date of its constitution.