Licensing Regulations, 1823

The acting governor-general, John Adams, who had reactionary views, enacted these. According to these regulations, starting or using a press without licence was a penal offence. Later on, the Act was extended to cover journals, pamphlets and books. These restrictions were directed chiefly against Indian language newspapers or those edited by Indians. Rammohan Roy’s Mirat-ul-Akbar had to stop publication.

557