Fundamental Right-Freedom of speech-Statute regulating number of pages in newspaper according to price charged- Constitutionality of -Newspaper (Price and Page) Act, 1956 (45 of 1956-Daily Newspaper (Price and Page) (Order, 1960- Constitution of India, Art. 19 (1) (a).

The Newspaper (Price and Page) Act, 1956, empowered the Central Government to regulate the prices of newspapers in relation to their pages and sizes and to regulate the allocation of space for advertising matter. Under this Act the Central Government made the Daily Newspapers (Price and l'age) Order, 1960, thereby fixing the maximum number of pages that might be published by a newspaper according to the price charged and prescribing the number of supplements that could be issued. The petitioner challenged the Act and the order as contravening Art. 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution