Little info on CBFC

Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC)  is a Statutory body under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting,  regulating the public exhibition of films under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act 1952.

Films can be publicly exhibited in India only after they have been certified by the Central Board of Film Certification.

The Board, consists of non-official members and a Chairman (all of whom are appointed by Central Government) and functions with headquarters at Mumbai. It has nine Regional offices, one each at Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Cuttack and Guwahati. The Regional Offices are assisted in the examination of  films by Advisory Panels. The members of the panels are nominated by Central Government by drawing people from different walks of life for a period of 2 years. 

The Certification process is in accordance with The Cinematograph Act, 1952, The Cinematograph (certification) Rules, 1983, and the guidelines issued by the Central government.

At present films are certified under 4 categories

U 

Unrestricted Public Exhibition

U/A

Unrestricted Public Exhibition - but with a word of caution that Parental discretion required for children below 12 years

A

Restricted to  adults

S

Restricted to any special class of persons

How does certification and censorship happen?

• Once a film is submitted to the regional office , an examining committee is formed to view the film. Many films are cleared — with or without deletions or modifications — at this stage itself. In case an applicant is not satisfied with the panel’s decision, the film goes to a revising committee. This is where the Board members intervene. All members record their verdict, and the committee decides by majority vote. If the chairperson does not agree with the majority view,  another revising committee can see the film.

If the final decision includes making cuts to the film, the applicant must do so and re-submit the film. The applicant gets the opportunity to present his views before the examining committee or the revising committee. If the applicant is not satisfied with the CBFC’s order, an appeal can be made to the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) in Delhi, which is headed by a retired judge. Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) is a statutory body, constituted under Cinematograph Act, 1952.

The Advisory Panel :-

 1. A film's first screening is seen by a group of six people out of a 250-member team called the Advisory Panel 

               2.  One of the officers of the CBFC—either the CEO or the regional officer—presides over the meeting 

3. Advisory Panel is comprised of 250 people from various professions — lawyers, teachers, doctors, among others — who watch the film and suggest changes and out of those 250, six people, selected in turns, decide the initial fate of the film

           4.  66% of the people from the Advisory Panel should be based on the     recommendation of the CBFC's chairperson and board members; which is most of the time not followed considering the whims of the government 

               5.  If the filmmaker isn't satisfied with their decision he can apply to the Revising Committee, which comprises of nine members, eight from the Advisory Panel, and chaired by the CBFC board member.

Recent Case Studies:

Leela Samson Issue:-

Leela Samson resigned after FCAT cleared the controversial film MSG. The board had earlier denied the clearance certificate to the film. Other members too resigned voicing similar concerns. Solidarity. Leela Samson alleged that there was political interference in the Board’s functioning. Adequate funds were not given to the Board. Advisory panels are filled with people with questionable credentials. The Board is not consulted. Direct appointments are made by the Ministry without consultation, rewarding their favorites.

Anurag kashyap’s Ugly Issue:-

Anurag Kashyap's last film, Ugly, ran into trouble with the censor board when he refused to run an anti-smoking disclaimer 

But what about the following:
Clearance- Cleared the film without asking for cuts but...
But: They just wanted to put the anti-smoking disclaimer, which was not accepted by Kashyap as there was a very crucial scene in the film, where a character is not even smoking but is just holding a cigarette, killing the whole purpose of the film
Step taken by Kashyap:
Filed a petition in the Bombay High Court, stating these objections violate his fundamental rights under: 

Article 19 (right to speech and expression) and
Article 21 (right to life)

Challenged the decision of the Advisory Committee and it went to the Revising Committee but dissatisfied by the Revision Committee's decision, Kashyap challenged it in High Court, but lost the case, he, later, appealed to S.C.