The Vernacular Press Act of 1878 was indeed enacted by Lord Lytton. It empowered district magistrates to require printers and publishers of vernacular newspapers to furnish security deposits and confiscate their press if they published anything objectionable. Because of its harsh provisions curbing the freedom of the vernacular press, it was widely criticized and nicknamed the 'Gagging Act'. The Act was later repealed by Lord Ripon in 1882.