HC seeks AAP govt reply on application on confrontationist ads

New Delhi, Aug 3: The Delhi High Court today sought the AAP government's response on a fresh application seeking to restrain it from publishing "confrontationist" advertisements criticising the Centre and police and glorifying Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The application was moved before a bench of Justice V P Vaish who also asked the Centre to file its reply by August 6.

The bench refused to tag the matter with similar pleas being heard by Chief Justice G Rohini on the request of Delhi government counsel and said that similar order can be passed by this court also.

During the brief hearing, senior advocate Chetan Sharma, appearing for petitioner NGO Nyayaa Path, said that recently an advertisement was issued by Delhi government in which it was said that a girl, murdered at Anand Parbat area, had 32 stabbing wounds but the autopsy report suggested that the girl had only four wounds.

"These advertisements criticise Delhi Police, Prime Minister of India in the national capital where large number of diplomats and people from international community reside. Such confrontationist advertisements are put up at every nook and corner depicting the Prime Minister in bad light that too by a government," he said.

Sharma further alleged all these advertisements were put up at the cost of public money to malign the image of central government and Delhi Police and sought immediate restrain on the Delhi government from issuing any such ads.

Central government's standing counsel Anil Soni said that media houses should also refrain themselves from taking such advertisements and if they are taking it then they should also take an affidavit from the issuing authority that the advertisement was not violative of Supreme Court guidelines.

He said that steps were being taken regarding the constitution of three-member implementing body meant to ensure compliance of the Government Advertising (Content Regulation) Guidelines 2014 laid down by the Supreme Court (to check misuse of public money).

PTI