WP (C) 13 of 2003
Large Scale Ads in Newspapers

Summary :

Petitioner has claimed that the prominent display of politicians and their parties is for the sole purpose of advertisement. In light of this, petitioner has sought directions seeking an appropriate writ to restrain the Union of India and all State Governments from using public funds on Government advertisements which are being directed towards image-building of the political parties. To deal with this situation, the petitioner also proposed guidelines. The Apex Court appreciated the fact that similar policies exist in almost all developed countries to keep a check on the abuse of government advertisements for private benefits

On April 23, 2014 the Court gave an order to constitute a committee comprising Prof. (Dr.) N.R. Madhava Menon, Mr. T.K. Viswanathan and Mr. Ranjit Kumar and submit a report within a period of three months to combat this situation. The Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting was appointed as the Member Secretary of the committee to coordinate and render assistance to the Committee.

On March 19, 2016 the Court disposed of the review petitions and modified the earlier order. This order included the photos of governors, chief ministers and cabinet ministers could be published in the print & electronic media to announce various schemes and greet the public on various occasions.

Download :

WP 13 of 2003
WP 13 of 2003 Order 23-Apr-2014
WP 13 of 2003 Order 13-May-2015
Contempt Petition (C) 692 of 2015 in WP 13 of 2005