Wasting taxpayer’s money? Know why Supreme Court ordered Govt to only use photos of President, Prime Minister and CJI of India

Perturbed by the number of government advertisements that features cabinet ministers and other state leaders, appearing in national and regional dailies, the Supreme Court today barred the politicians from using their photos.

However, the court clarified that the government could only use the photographs of the Prime Minister, President and the Chief Justice of India after getting the approval from these three personalities.

According to a media report, the apex court noted that regular use of pictures of personalities could result in developing personality cults. The ruling implied that state governments will not be able to use images of their chief minister and governors in their advertisements.

The ruling comes in following petitions filed by several NGOs including one filed by former AAP leader Prashant Bhushan in the court. NGOs have asked the court to protect tax payers money from being used for gaining footage.

The court has ordered a three-member committee to ensure that the directives are implemented and followed. It is worth noting that the government had spent over Rs 40 crore on advertising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat campaign in November 2014.

Interestingly, the court did exempt the use of photos of deceased leaders. As per the media report, the court has warned the governments to abstain from excessive advertising of its schemes as well as celebrating its political leaders with advertisements notifying both their birth and death anniversaries.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has allocated an overall Rs 170 crore as advertising budget for the current fiscal year.

Representational Image: Indiatimes.com