PRIYANKA GUPTA Vs. UOI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) LEARNED counsel for the respondent no. 4 has raised preliminary objection and has submitted that the impugned authentication of declarations dated 5th April, 2006 and 10th April, 2006 made by collector and Dist. Magistrate, Indore, on the basis of which the Registrar of Newspapers, New Delhi has granted Certificate of Registration, can be made subject matter of an application under Section 8b of the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1967 (hereinafter referred to as the Act, for short ). It is further submitted that any order passed under Section 8b of the Act is appealable under Section 8c of the Act.

(2.) SECTION 8b and 8c of the Act read as under:

(3.) SECTION 8b of the Act is a comprehensive provision which entitles the Press Registrars or any other person to move an application before a Magistrate who is empowered to authenticate a declaration to cancel a declaration already granted if any of the conditions mentioned in section 8b of the Act are satisfied. In fact, during the course of hearing, learned counsel for the petitioner nos. 1 and 2 had relied upon clauses (i) and (iii) read with proviso to Section 6 of the Act and had submitted that declaration granted by respondent no. 3 should be cancelled or revoked. In these circumstances, it is clear that the petitioners have an efficacious alternative remedy by way of an application for cancellation of declaration under Section 8b of the Act. There is no justification or reason given in the present Writ Petition why the equally efficacious alternative remedy cannot be invoked by the petitioners.