Delhi High Court Upholds PCI Decision to Exclude Editors Guild of India

The Delhi High Court has upheld the decision of the Press Council of India (PCI) to exclude the Editors Guild of India from the list of recognised “associations of persons” for forming the 15th Press Council.

A Bench led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela dismissed the Editors Guild’s petition, holding that it was filed after an unreasonable delay and did not have strong legal grounds. The Court refused to interfere with the Scrutiny Committee’s report dated September 10, 2024, and the PCI notification issued on October 28, 2024.

The Press Council is made up of representatives from recognised journalist associations, editors, newspaper owners, as well as members from law, academia, and Parliament. To be included, associations must strictly comply with the requirements under the Press Council Act, 1978.

The Editors Guild had challenged its rejection under Section 5(3)(a) of the Act, which deals with the nomination of working journalists. However, the Scrutiny Committee found several shortcomings, such as failure to submit notarised documents, lack of proof of continuous functioning for six years, non-compliance with the prescribed certification format, and absence of a declaration stating that its claim was free from disputes or litigation.

The Guild argued that these were only technical lapses and that it had substantially met the requirements. The Court rejected this argument and held that procedural rules cannot be ignored, especially in statutory processes. As a result, the PCI’s decision to exclude the Editors Guild of India was upheld.