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Media & parties violating SC verdict on CM's photo publicity

By Subhash Chandra Agarwal, RTI activist | PUBLISHED: 09, Jun 2015, 14:31 pm IST | UPDATED: 09, Jun 2015, 15:31 pm IST

Media & parties violating SC verdict on CM's photo publicity New Delhi: Chief Ministers of various states are continuously violating Supreme Court verdict which prohibited use of even photos of Chief Ministers in government-advertisements. Supreme Court should have by now taken cognizance of such open violation of its verdicts by even persons seated on responsible posts of state Chief Ministers, also for ensuring rule of law in the country so that people may realise that political rulers are not above law.

In addition to start contempt-proceedings against erring Chief Ministers, Supreme Court should make its verdict more stringent by making media also bound by its verdict so that media may have to reject all government-advertisements with photos of prohibited ones also including Chief Ministers. Since many states are still giving costly multi-page advertisements, a size-limit of government-advertisements should also be fixed to save huge wastage of public funds by state-governments

Since states ruled by ruling political party at the centre are putting photos of Prime Minister in their advertisements, even photos of Prime Minister should not be allowed to be published in government-advertisements. It will automatically counter argument of states for allowing photos of Chief Ministers in name of federal structure of Constitution. It is noteworthy that Chief Ministers have been biggest misusers of photo-publicity at public-expense.

Best is to allow photos of only President of India in government-advertisements, because chances of Chief Justice of India giving consent for photo-publicity are remote when the then Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam did not allow printing of his photographs in government-advertisements on 26.09.2013 released for providing an exclusive PIN code number 110201 for Supreme Court where he was the Chief Guest for the occasion. Either Supreme Court can further tighten its verdict in this regard, or else Prime Minister Narender Modi should take initiative in this regard.
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