The Tamil Nadu government moved SC challenging Madras HC order restraining ads for govt welfare schemes from using the name of any living individual, photographs of former Chief Ministers and ideological leaders, or displaying any party insignia.
The Tamil Nadu government on Monday moved the Supreme Court challenging the recent Madras High Court order restraining advertisements for government welfare schemes from using the name of any living individual, photographs of former Chief Ministers and ideological leaders, or displaying any party insignia. A bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and K Vinod Chandran agreed to list the matter this week after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, for the state, mentioned it for urgent listing.
Mentioning the matter, Rohatgi said, “This is a very unusual and urgent case. No scheme of the Government can have the name of the Chief Minister or any political figure.”
On July 31, the Madras High Court had restrained the Tamil Nadu government from using the name of any living personality in the nomenclature of new or re-branded public schemes to be introduced in the future. It had also prohibited the use of portraits of any former Chief Minister/ideological leaders or Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) insignia/emblem/flag in the advertisements issued for popularising those schemes.
AIADMK Member of Parliament, C Ve Shanmugam, had approached the High Court seeking directions to restrain the state from naming welfare schemes after living political personalities or using their photos, as well as party logos or symbols in promotional materials. He contended that a new scheme was being launched using the current Chief Minister’s name, images of ideological leaders, and the ruling party’s (DMK’s) symbols, in violation of Supreme Court guidelines and the 2014 Government Advertisement (Content Regulation) Guidelines.
The High Court in its interim order had observed that, according to the Supreme Court’s earlier judgement, publishing the photograph of the current Chief Minister is permitted. It, however, said that using images of ideological leaders or former Chief Ministers is prima facie contrary to the court’s directives.