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The Press Council Of India is a statutory body in India that governs the conduct of the print media. It is one of the most important bodies that sustain democracy, as it has supreme power in regards to the media to ensure that freedom of speech is maintained. However,

•  it is also empowered to hold hearings on receipt of complaints and take suitable action where appropriate.
•  It may either warn or censure the errant journalists on finding them guilty. It did so on 21 July 2006, when it censured three newspapers — Times of India (Delhi and Pune), Punjab Kesari (Delhi) and Mid Day (Mumbai) — for violation of norms of journalistic conduct.
• The press council of India is protected by the constitution and its actions may not be questioned unless it is proved to be in violation of the constitution, which makes it exceedingly powerful a body.
• It is a statutory, quasi judicial body which acts as a watchdog of the press

The Press Council of India was first set up in the year 1966 by the Parliament on the recommendations of the First Press Commission with the object of preserving the freedom of the press and of maintaining and improving the standards of press in India. The present Council functions under the Press Council Act 1978.
It is a statutory, quasi judicial body which acts as a watchdog of the press. It adjudicates the complaints against and by the press for violation of ethics and for violation of the freedom of the press respectively.
The Press Council is headed by a Chairman, who has, by convention,

• been a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India.
• The Council consists of 28 other members of whom 20 represent the press and are nominated by the press organisations/news agencies recognised and notified by the Council as all India bodies of categories such as editors, working journalists and owners and managers of newspaper;
• 5 members are nominated from the two houses of Parliament and 3 represent cultural, literary and legal fields as nominees of the Sahitya Academy, University Grants Commission and the Bar Council of India.
• The members serve on the Council for a term of three years.
• The Council was last reconstituted on 22 May 2001. The present Chairman is Justice Markandey Katju.

The Council is funded by revenue collected by it as fees levied on the registered newspapers in the country on the basis of their circulation. No fee is levied on newspapers with a circulation of less than 5000 copies. The deficit is made good by grants by the Central Government, through the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.