Plea To Regulate Govt Advertisements : Supreme Court Issues Notice On Common Cause's PIL

The Supreme Court, on Monday, issued notice in a petition seeking directions to restrain Union and State Governments from using public funds on Government advertisements in violation of the guidelines issued by the Apex Court in Common Cause v. Union of India (2015) 7 SCC 1. After hearing Advocate, Mr. Prashant Bhushan representing the petitioner in some details, a Bench comprising Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Hima Kohli thought it fit to issue notice in the matter. The petition seeks the indulgence of the Bench to prohibit state governments from publishing advertisements outside the territory of their respective states except when they do so to attract investors; prohibit publication of advertorials by Governments; prohibiting publication of government advertisements at least 3 months prior to elections; prohibit from publishing photographs of elected public functionaries on government advertisements. Pursuant to the order of the Apex Court in Common Cause v. Union of India (2015) 7 SCC 1, the Union Government had published guidelines for the functioning of the three member committee i.e. the 'Committee on Content Regulation of Government Advertisements' (CCRGA) through an order dated 06.04.2016. Mr. Bhushan submitted that at present the members of the selection committee as well as the CCRGA are 'partisan' and 'an unabashed propaganda arm of the Government'. In this regard, the petition implores the Bench to direct the Committee on Content Regulation of Government Advertisement (CCRGA) to appoint three member committee comprising Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India and also set up an independent website of CCRGA which would provide information about the working of the committee. Justice Chandrachud pointed out during the course of the hearing that it might not be possible to make such appointments. Particularly, with respect to the appointment of CJI as a committee member, he stated - "The CJI has enough work to do in the judicial and administrative side."The concerns raised by the petitioner regarding government advertisement are multifaceted. It culls out the modes of advertising that are malafide and manifestly arbitrary - Publication of advertisements by State Governments outside territorial limits of their respective states;Publication of Government advertisements in the form of 'advertorials';Publication of Government advertisements during/prior to the elections;Publication of Photographs of functionaries on Government Advertisements;Advertisements in the name of awareness campaigns Publication of advertisements by State Governments outside territorial limits of their respective statesThe petition submits that the now-a-days State Governments roll out advertising campaigns outside the territorial limits of their states, with the intention to promote individuals and government without serving any public interest. It is argued that the beneficiaries of the Government initiatives are primarily within their respective States, therefore practice of advertising beyond State borders is disproportionate, unreasonable, arbitrary and in the teeth of the guidelines laid down by the Apex Court. Justice Chandrachud stated, "A State Government may want to publish what they are doing in a national edition of a newspaper to attract investors, for tourism purposes,..."Considering the same, Mr. Bhushan submitted that the prayer in the petition which deals with the said issue can be modified accordingly. But he added that if the advertisements' sole purpose is personality projection and is not in furtherance of any public interest then such advertisements ought not to be permitted. Justice Chandrachud was of the view, "That is democracy right. All public representatives are entitled to tell the country what they are doing. That is the heart and sole of this nation. Politics is also a competitive space."Mr. Bhushan retorted that the politicians can use funds of their respective political parties for advertisement instead of draining out the public exchequer. Publication of Government advertisements in the form of 'advertorials'The petition apprises the Apex Court that governments across the country are indulging in the practice of publishing advertisements in the guise of news articles, which is commonly known as advertorials. It is averred that such advertorials are ingenuine, deceptive, misleading, unregulated and against journalistic ethics, and raised significant constitutional, ethical and moral questions. It also submits that these advertorials lack prominent disclaimers and if they are present, the disclaimers are not specific. Mr. Bhushan submitted, "They are issuing advertisements in the guise to look like news. These are called advertorials. This cannot be allowed."Justice Chandrachud expressed his opinion, "Every Govt. issues the press statement, if they put forth in a news magazine that this is what we have done, it is dissemination of information. In my...

Plea To Regulate Govt Advertisements : Supreme Court Issues Notice On Common Cause's PIL

Sohini Chowdhury

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