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Revised CBFC Certification Guidelines Under Cinematograph Act, 1952
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting notifies new film certification guidelines for the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), retaining the 1991 framework while adding 2 provisions. The notified changes align the guidelines with the Cinematograph Rules, 2024, including new UA age-based markers and a mandatory drug-related warning provision.
Revised CBFC Film Certification Guidelines:
| Dimension | Key Details |
|---|---|
| Nodal ministry | The CBFC is governed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. |
| Legal basis | It is established under the Cinematograph Act, 1952. |
| Nature of body | It is a statutory body. |
| Core function | It mandates certification of films for public exhibition in India. |
| Mandate clarification | The CBFC mandates certification rather than censorship, and authorises requiring modifications before granting a certificate. |
| Certification categories | Following the Cinematograph Rules, 2024, certification comprises 4 categories: U (unrestricted public exhibition); UA (unrestricted with parental guidance); A (restricted to adults); S (restricted to a specialised class of persons, such as doctors or scientists). |
| UA sub-categories | The UA category comprises 3 age-based markers: UA 7+, UA 13+, and UA 16+. |
| New provision 1: drug-related warnings | Scenes depicting or involving the use, consumption, or trafficking of narcotic drugs or other psychotropic substances mandate a disclaimer or statutory warning. |
| New provision 2: age-based markers and endorsement | Where the Board considers it necessary to caution parents or guardians about whether their wards should watch a film, it authorises certifying the film for unrestricted public exhibition with an endorsement to that effect. |
| Violence and crime | The guidelines mandate that anti-social activities and violence are not glorified or justified, and that the modus operandi of criminals or other visuals and words likely to incite an offence are not depicted. |
| Children | The guidelines mandate that scenes showing involvement of children in violence, as victims, perpetrators, or forced witnesses, or showing children subjected to any form of child abuse are not presented needlessly. |
| Vulnerable groups and animals | The guidelines mandate discouraging scenes showing abuse or ridicule of physically and mentally handicapped persons, and scenes depicting cruelty to or abuse of animals. |
| Obscenity and depiction of women | The guidelines mandate that human sensibilities are not offended by vulgarity, obscenity, or depravity, that dual-meaning words catering to baser instincts are not allowed, and that scenes degrading or denigrating women in any manner are not presented. |
| Eight specified requirements | The guidelines mandate that: national symbols and emblems are not shown except in accordance with the Emblems and Names Act, 1950; scenes involving sexual violence against women are avoided, and where germane to the theme, reduced to the minimum with no details shown; scenes showing sexual perversions are avoided, and where germane to the theme, reduced to the minimum with no details shown; visuals or words contemptuous of racial, religious, or other groups are not presented; visuals or words promoting communal, obscurantist, anti-scientific, and anti-national attitudes are not presented; sovereignty and integrity of India is not called into question, security of the State is not jeopardised, and friendly relations with foreign States are not strained; public order is not endangered; visuals or words involving defamation, or contempt of court, are not presented. |
| Constitutional context | These guidelines derive from Article 19(2), which authorises reasonable restrictions on freedom of speech and expression on grounds including sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, contempt of court, defamation, and incitement to an offence. |
| Supreme Court ruling | The Supreme Court in K.A. Abbas v. Union of India (1970) authorises pre-censorship of films, holding that the medium’s mass appeal and emotional impact justify treating it differently from other forms of expression. |