The Madras High Court on Wednesday granted permission to activist Traffic K.R. Ramaswamy to file a contempt of court application against government officials for disobeying the court’s October 25 order imposing a blanket ban across the State on cut-outs, hoardings, flex boards and banners featuring living persons.
Justice S. Vaidyanathan permitted him to move the contempt petition after he represented that most politicians were openly violating the court order by continuing the practice of displaying flex boards and cut-outs with their photographs during different political events held in the State.
Citing a specific instance, he alleged that flex boards containing the photographs of Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam were erected in many parts of Chennai, including the stretch along the Marina beach, during former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s death anniversary on Tuesday.
Mr. Justice Vaidyanathan had imposed the ban while disposing of a case filed by a resident of Arumbakkam, seeking a direction to the Corporation Commissioner and the Commissioner of Police to remove a political party’s name board, banner and flag mast erected in front of her house.
“In order to maintain a clean atmosphere in the entire State of Tamil Nadu and to avoid unnecessary drawings on walls of buildings/residential places, this court directs the Chief Secretary to ensure that a clean atmosphere is maintained in that regard in the wards of the town panchayat/panchayat union/municipality/corporation etc.
“The Chief Secretary shall also ensure that provisions of the Tamil Nadu Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act, 1959, as amended from time to time, are complied with,” the judge had ordered. Though the matter was taken on appeal by Chennai Corporation, a Division Bench of Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and N. Seshasayee refused to stay his order.
