There cannot be pre-censorship in a democracy, the Delhi High Court told the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on Thursday with regard to its policy on display of advertisements on auto rickshaws.
‘Citizen can be political’
“In a democracy it (pre-censorship) should not be done. What is the need for pre-censorship or prohibition of political advertisement? How can you do it? A citizen can be political,” said a Bench of Justices S. Ravindra Bhat and Pratibha M. Singh.
According to the court, if an advertisement appears to be communal or obscene, then the government needs to take action. The Delhi government, meanwhile, told the court that it was coming out with a new policy regarding display of advertisement on public service vehicles (PSVs), including auto rickshaws, and in that the prohibition against political ads would be removed. It, however, said that pre-censorship was required.
Matter posted for Aug 9
The Bench has now listed the matter for hearing on August 9, giving the government time to place its policy before the court. It was hearing a PIL by filed by auto unions against the then Delhi government’s August 2014 policy on display of advertisements on PSVs, particularly the bar on political ads and the provision allowing pre-censorship.
In 2015, the High Court had reserved its verdict in the matter, but had taken it up again last year as it wanted to know whether the government would address the issues raised by the petitioners. However, since July 2016, the Delhi government has been seeking more time on each date for placing its revised advertisement policy before the court.
