Government to file guidelines in SC

New Delhi, Jan 3 (UNI) The Supreme Court today directed the Union government to file within two weeks the guidelines prepared by it to check wasteful expenditure on political advertisements from the state exchequer.

The directions came when the Additional Solicitor General informed the apex court that Department of Audio Visual Publicity and the Department of Expenditure have framed guidelines to check the practice of issuing advertisements eulogising political leaders at the expense of public funds which has been disapproved by the apex court.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal and Justice C K Thakker issued the directions after the government assured the court that guidelines are being enforced.

The court is hearing the PIL filed by one Manzoor Ali Khan seeking directions from the court to ban political advertisements at the state expense pleading that crores of public money was being spent on such publicity glorifying politicians in power which is a sheer waste of public funds.

Earlier, the court had taken serious view of such expenditure and had told the government not to waste tax payers' money on such ads and the politicians concerned or their parties should bear the expenses for such publicity.

UNI