Licencing Act, 1857

The Licensing Act of 1857 established license requirements and gave the government the ability to prevent the production and distribution of any book, newspaper, or other printed material. Due to the emergency brought on by the 1857 uprising, this Act added licensing requirements to the Metcalfe Act's registration process and reserved the right to forbid the publication and distribution of any book, newspaper, or printed material. 

 

•    The limitations were reinstituted during the 1857 Revolt.

 

•    The Vernacular Press was critical of government initiatives after the uprising of 1857.

 

•    Lord Canning (1856–1862) revived the elements of Adam's Regulation 1823 in the Licensing Act.

 

•    This Act mandated that the papers get a government licensing, subject to the government's terms and conditions.

 

•    Even though it was only in place for a single year, it continued to be in effect every year until 1865.

 

•    All of Metcalf's reforms were reversed.

 

•    The Indian press was subject to limitations after the 1857 uprising.

 

•    The federal government held the authority to issue and revoke licenses.

 

•    The right to forbid the publication of any newspaper or book was granted to the government.

 

•    This Act added licensing requirements to the existing registration process under the Metcalfe Act.

 

•    Any book, newspaper, or other written material may not be published or distributed without the permission of the government.

 

The Metcalfe Act's registration process was expanded by this Act to include licensing requirements, and the government retained the ability to prevent the production and distribution of any book, newspaper, or printed material. It was ratified by Lord Canning, who was India's Governor-General at the time.