S.N. Variava, J. - (1.) This appeal is against a judgment dated 2nd April 1990 in Writ Petition No. 4335 of 1979.
(2.) The respondent (herein) had challenged the virus of certain provisions of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 (hereinafter called the said Act) as amended by Act No. 49 of 1981. In the Writ Petition the challenge was to the constitutional validity of Sections 3(1), 4(1), 5-D, 6(1) and 7(1). By the impugned judgment Sections 3(1), 4(1), 5-D and 7(1) were held to be constitutionally valid. However, portions of Section 6(1) have been held to be unconstitutional and those portions have been struck down.
(3.) It must be mentioned that, in the case of K.A. Abbas v. Union of India reported in AIR 1971 SC 481 the validity of certain provisions of the said act had been challenged, inter alia, on the ground that an appeal from a decision of the Board should lie to a Court or to an independent Tribunal and not to the Central Government. The Solicitor General made a statement that the Government would appropriately amend the Act to set up a Tribunal. This Court commented as follows (Para 9): "We express our satisfaction that the Central Government will cease to perform curial functions through one of its Secretaries in this sensitive field involving the fundamental right of speech and expression. Experts sitting as a Tribunal and deciding matters quasi-judicially inspire more confidence than a Secretary and therefore, it is better that the appeal should lie to a Court or Tribunal." ;