SC says no to politicians’ photos on govt ads

In an important development with regard to regulation of public advertisements, the Supreme Court of India has said that they can carry pictures of certain dignitaries like the President, Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India.
Issuing a slew of guidelines, the SC prohibited the use of photographs of political leaders in advertisements issued by the government and its agencies, saying it leads to a personality cult. It also asked the central government to constitute a three-member committee to regulate the issue of public advertisement.
The court accepted all major recommendations made by a committee on regulation of government advertisements. It, however, did not allow a provision for special audit of award of government advertisement to media houses.
The court said the use of photographs of an individual, leader or minister not only has a tendency to associate an individual with a project, but leads to a personality cult.
The court said this was a direct injustice to democracy.
It did not approve one of the recommendations of the three-member committee, headed by eminent academician Prof NR Madhava Menon, that government advertisements should not carry photographs of any dignitaries including the President and the Prime Minister.