The Press Council of India is a statutory, quasi-judicial authority set-up by an Act of the Parliament. It functions under the Press Council Act, 1978.
Section 14 of the Press Council Act,1978, empowers the Council to warn, admonish or censure the newspaper, the news agency, the editor or the journalist concerned or disapprove the conduct of the editor or the journalist if it finds that a newspaper or a news agency has offended against the standards of journalistic ethics or public taste or that an editor or a working journalist has committed any professional misconduct, on the receipt of complaint or otherwise.
Electronic media, TV news channels, social media i.e. Whatsapp/ twitter/Facebook do not come under the jurisdiction of the Press Council of India.
Complaints against and by the print media are adjudicated by the Council by adhering to the Press Council (Procedure for Inquiry) Regulations, 1979.
Press Council of India
[Press Release dt. 14-04-2020]
PR/9/2020-PCI