Page 1

REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION

WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO. 13 OF 2003

COMMON CAUSE ...PETITIONER (S)

VERSUS

UNION OF INDIA ...RESPONDENT (S)

WITH W.P. (C) No. 197 of 2004

&  W.P. (C) No.302 of 2012

J U D G M E N T

RANJAN GOGOI, J.

1. Common Cause and Centre for Public Interest Litigation,

two  registered  bodies,  have  approached  this  Court  under

Article 32 of the Constitution seeking an appropriate writ to

restrain the Union of India and all  State Governments from

using public funds on Government advertisements which are

primarily  intended to  project  individual  functionaries  of  the

Government or a political party.  The writ petitioners have also

1

Page 2

prayed for laying down of appropriate guidelines by this Court

to regulate Government action in the matter so as to prevent

misuse/wastage  of  public  funds  in  connection  with  such

advertisements.

2. In  the  above  stated  writ  petitions  the  writ  petitioners

while  conceding  the  beneficial  effect  of  government

advertisements  which  convey  necessary  information  to  the

citizens  with  regard  to  various  welfare  and  progressive

measures as also their rights and entitlements, however, had

contended that in the garb of communicating with the people,

in many instances, undue political advantage and mileage is

sought  to  be  achieved  by  personifying  individuals  and

crediting such individuals or political leaders (who are either

from a political party or government functionaries) as  being

responsible  for  various  government  achievements  and

progressive plans.  According to the petitioners such practice

becomes  rampant  on  the  eve  of  the  elections.  Such

advertisements  not  only  result  in  gross  wastage  of  public

funds but constitute misuse of governmental powers besides

derogating  the  fundamental  rights  of  a  large  section  of  the

2

Page 3

citizens as guaranteed by Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution

of India.

3. The writ petitions, filed as public interest litigations, were

resisted by the Union of India primarily on the ground that the

issues  sought  to  be  raised  pertain  to  governmental  policies

and  executive  decisions  in  respect  of  which  it  may  not  be

appropriate  for  this  Court  to  lay  down  binding  guidelines

under Article 142.  The decision of this Court in Manzoor Ali

Khan  &  Anr.  Vs.  Union  of  India  &  Ors.1 and  a

pronouncement  of  the  Delhi  High  Court  in  Umesh Mohan

Sethi  Vs.  Union of India & Anr.2 have been relied upon by

the Union in support of its above stated stand.

4. The issues arising in the writ petitions were considered

by this Court in an earlier round of exhaustive hearings. By

order dated 23.04.2014, this Court,  on consideration of  the

respective  stands  of  the  parties  and  by  relying  on  the

principles laid down in the decisions specifically referred to in

the  aforesaid  order  dated  23.04.2014,  inter  alia,  held  that

there  is  no  dispute  that  “primary  cause  of  government

1 (2014) 7 SCC 321 2 WP (C) No.2926 of 2012 decided on 12.12.2012

3

Page 4

advertisement is to use public funds to inform the public of

their rights, obligations, and entitlements as well as to explain

Government policies, programmes, services and initiatives.”  It

was further held that  only  such government advertisements

which do not fulfil the above requisites will fall foul of the area

of permissible advertisements.  This Court acknowledged the

fact that the dividing line between permissible advertisements

that are a part of government messaging and advertisements

that are “politically motivated” may at times gets blurred.  As

the materials laid before the Court by the parties were found

to be inadequate for the purpose of evolving what would be the

best practices keeping in view the prevailing scenario in other

jurisdictions across the globe, this Court felt the necessity of

constituting  a  Committee  consisting  of  (1)  Prof.  (Dr.)  N.R.

Madhava Menon, former Director, National Judicial Academy,

Bhopal  (2)  Mr.  T.K.  Viswanathan,  former Secretary General,

Lok Sabha and (3) Mr. Ranjit Kumar, Senior Advocate to go

into the matter and submit a report to the Court.

5. In terms of the order of this Court, the Committee was

duly constituted and after full deliberations in the matter, a

4

Page 5

report had been submitted by the Committee suggesting a set

of guidelines for approval of this Court.  It is the plea of the

petitioner that the said guidelines should be approved by this

Court  and  directions  be  issued  under  Article  142  of  the

Constitution of  India for  enforcement  of  the  said guidelines

until an appropriate legislation in this regard is brought into

effect by the Parliament.

6. The  contents  of  the  guidelines  suggested  by  the  court

appointed Committee may be usefully extracted hereinbelow:-

“GUIDELINES ON CONTENT REGULATION OF  GOVERNMENT ADVERTISING

(1) These  Guidelines  shall  be  called  the  Government Advertisement  (Content  Regulation)  Guidelines 2014.

(2) They shall come into force with effect from......

2. APPLICATION:

(1) These Guidelines shall apply to all Government advertisements  other  than  Classified Advertisements.

(2) These Guidelines shall apply to the content of all Government Advertising till a suitable legislation is enacted by the Government to prevent the misuse of public funds on advertisements to gain political mileage  as  distinct  from  legitimate  Government messaging.

5

Page 6

(3) These Guidelines shall apply to all –

(a)  institutions of Government;

(b) public sector undertakings;

(c) local  bodies  and  other  autonomous bodies/organizations established under a Statute.

3. DEFINITIONS:

In  these  Guidelines  unless  the  context  otherwise requires:

(a)  “Classified  Advertisements”  include  public notices,  tenders,  recruitment  notices,  statutory notifications.

(b) “DAVP Guidelines” means the existing guidelines of  the  Directorate  of  Advertising  and  Visual Publicity  of  the  Ministry  of  Information  and Broadcasting  dealing  with  the  eligibility  and empanelment  procedures  and rates  of  payment and such other matters;

(c) “Government” means Central Government, State Governments/Union  Territory  Administrations and  also  includes  local  bodies,  public  sector undertakings  and  other  autonomous bodies/organisations  established  under  a Statute.

(d) “Government  advertising”  means  any  message, conveyed  and  paid  for  by  the  government  for placement  in  media  such  as  newspapers, television,  radio,  internet,  cinema  and  such other,  media  but  does  not  include  classified advertisements; and includes both copy (written text/audio)  and  creatives  (visuals/video/multi

6

Page 7

media)  put  out  in  print,  electronic,  outdoor  or digital media.

OBJECTS:

The objects of these Guidelines are:-

(a) to  prevent  arbitrary  use  of  public  funds  for advertising  by  public  authorities  to  project  particular personalities,  parties  or  governments  without  any attendant public interest.

(b) neither to belittle the need nor to deny the authority of the Union and State Governments and its agencies to disseminate information necessary for public to know on the policies and programmes of Government but only to exclude the possibility of any misuse of public funds on advertisement  campaigns  in  order  to  gain  political mileage by the political establishment;

(c) to address the gap in the existing DAVP Guidelines which only deal with the eligibility and empanelment of newspapers/journals  or  other  media,  their  rates  of payment,  and  such  like  matters  and  not  on  how  to regulate the content of Government advertisements;

(d) to ensure that “all government activities satisfy the test of reasonableness and public interest, particularly while dealing with public funds and property”;

(e) to  ensure  that  government  messaging  is  well co-ordinate, effectively managed in the best democratic traditions and is responsive to the diverse information needs of the public.

5. GOVERNMENT  ADVERTISEMENT  TO  INFORM CITIZENS

Subject to these Guidelines Government may place advertisements  or  purchase  advertising  space  or

7

Page 8

time in any medium to inform citizens about their rights  and  responsibilities,  about  government policies,  programmes,  services  or  initiatives,  or about dangers or risks to public health,  safety or the environment.

6. THE  FIVE  PRINCIPLES  OF  CONTENT REGULATION:

While  placing  advertisements  or  purchasing advertising  space  in  any  media,  the  Government shall be guided by the following principles, namely:-

(1) Advertising  Campaigns  to  be  related  to Government responsibilities:

While  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Government  to provide the public with timely, accurate, clear, objective  and complete  information  about  its policies,  programmes,  services and initiatives since  the  public  has  a  right  to  such information,  the  content  of  government advertisements  should  be  relevant  to  the governments’  constitutional  and  legal obligations as well as the citizens’ rights and entitlements.

(2) Advertisement  materials  should  be presented  in  an  objective,  fair  and accessible manner and be designed to meet the objectives of the campaign:

(i) The material shall be presented in a fair and  objective  manner  and  shall  be capable  of  fulfilling  the  intended objectives;

(ii) Government  shall  exercise  due  caution while  deciding  the  content,  layout,  size and design of the message including the target area and the creative requirement of  the intended communication in order

8

Page 9

to ensure that the maximum reach and impact  are  achieved  in  the  most  cost effective manner;

(iii) Content of advertisement must enable the recipients  of  the  information  to distinguish  between  facts  and  analysis and where information is presented as a fact, it should be accurate and verifiable;

(iv) Pre-existing  policies,  products,  services and initiatives should not be presented as new unless there has been a substantial change or  modification of  such policies, products or services;

(v) Content of advertisement should provide information  in  a  manner  that accommodates  special  needs  of disadvantaged  individuals  or  groups identified  as  being  within  the  target audience;

(vi) Multiple formats may be used to ensure equal access;

(vii) Every effort shall be made to pre-test the material in case of large scale campaign with target audiences.

(3) Advertisement materials should be objective and not directed at promoting political  interests of ruling party:

(i) Display  material  must  be  presented  in objective  language  and  be  free  of  political argument or partisan standpoint:

9

Page 10

(ii) Government  advertising  shall  maintain political  neutrality  and  avoid  glorification  of political personalities and projecting a positive impression of the party in power or a negative impression  of  parties  critical  of  the government.

(iii) Advertisement materials must not –

(a)  Mention the party in government by name; (b)  directly  attack  the  views  or  actions  of

others in opposition;

(c)  include  party  political  symbol  or  logo  or flag;

(d)  aim  to  influence  public  support  for  a political party, candidate for election; or

(e)  refer  to  link  to  the  websites  of  political parties or politicians.

(iv) Government  advertisement  materials  should avoid photographs of political leaders and if it is  felt  essential  for  effective  Government messaging,  only  the  photographs  of  the President/Prime  Minster  or  Governor/Chief Minister should be used;

(v) Government advertisements shall not be used at  patronizing  media  houses  or  aimed  at receiving favourable reporting for the party or person in power

(4) Advertisement  Campaigns  be justified  and undertaken  in  an  efficient  and cost-effective manner:

(a) Since it is the responsibility of government to safeguard  the  trust  and  confidence  in  the integrity and impartiality of public services and

1

Page 11

hence it should be the policy of governments to use  public  funds  in  such  a  manner  as  to obtain maximum value for taxpayers’ money;

(b) Advertisement  Campaigns  must  be  justified and  undertaken  in  an  efficient  and cost-effective manner;

(c) The Government shall –

(i) decide and announce beforehand, a list of personalities  on  whose  birth  or  death anniversaries,  advertisements  could  be released  every  year  and  specify  which Ministry/Department  could  release  the same;

(ii) avoid  the  issue  of  multiple advertisements  by different  departments and  PSUs  of  the  same  Government  in Commemorative  Advertisements  and shall issue a single advertisement only;

(d) Though  advertising  by  governments  should remain regulated all the time, it is particularly important  to  scrupulously  follow  these principles before and during the elections.  As far  as  possible,  during  the  period  prior  to elections, only those advertisements required by  law  (such  as  public  health  and  safety advisories or job and contract advertisements) alone be released by governments;

(e) Advertisement campaigns should only be need based; and

(f) In  case  of  large  volume  advertisement campaigns, post-campaign impact assessment is  necessary  to  be  included in  the  planning process itself and shall identify the indicators to measure success when the campaign has ended.

11

Page 12

(5) Government advertising must comply with legal requirements and financial regulations and procedures:

Governments shall  ensure that  all  Advertisements comply with:-

(i) relevant  laws  regarding  privacy,  intellectual property  rights,  election  laws  and  consumer protection laws apart from laws in respect of broadcasting and media; and

(ii) copyright  laws  and  ownership  rights associated with works subject to copyright are fully respected.

COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT:

(1) The Government shall appoint an Ombudsman who shall  be  an  eminent  expert  independent  of  the Government  to  receive  complaints  of  violations  of Guidelines and to recommend action in accordance with the Guidelines.

(2)  Heads  of  government  departments  and  agencies shall  be responsible  for  ensuring compliance with these  Guidelines  and  shall  follow  a  procedure  of certification  of  compliance  before  advertisements are released to the media.

(3) As  part  of  the  performance  audit  of  the Ministry/Department/Agency –

(a)  there  shall  be  separate  audit  of  the compliance of Advertisement Guidelines by the Ministry/Department/Agency concerned; and  

(b) The  annual  report  of  such ministry/department/agency shall publish the findings of such audit and the money spent on advertising.

1

Page 13

(4) The regulatory bodies of print and electronic media will  be  within  their  powers  to  impose  sanctions against  such  media  groups  acting  against  these Guidelines  in  seeking  or  obtaining  government advertisements.

8. GENERAL:

(1) These Guidelines shall  be in addition to and not  in  derogation  of  the  existing  Guidelines which  are  in  place  under  the  existing Advertisement Policy of Government.

(2) These  Guidelines  are  equally  applicable  to State Governments and its agencies.  The State Governments shall undertake amendments to whatever policies they have in this regard and observe  the  Guidelines  strictly  in  letter  and spirit.

(3) The  Ombudsman  may  recommend  suitable changes  to  the  Guidelines  to  deal  with  new circumstances and situations.

(4) The Government shall take necessary steps to initiate  necessary  legislation  on  the  subject, given  its  importance  for  democracy,  human rights and good governance.”

*******

Whether  the  guidelines  recommended  should commend  acceptance  and  if  so  whether  the same should be made operative and enforceable under Article 142 of the Constitution.

7. In the earlier  order dated 23rd April,  2014, this  Court,

after holding that reasonableness and fairness consistent with

1

Page 14

Article 14 of the Constitution would be the ultimate test of all

State  activities  proceeded  to  hold  that  the  deployment  of

public  funds  in  any  Government  activity  which  is  not

connected  with  a  public  purpose  would  justify  judicial

intervention.  We would like to say something more.   

Part IV of the Constitution is as much a guiding light for

the  Judicial  organ  of  the  State  as  the  Executive  and  the

Legislative arms, all  three being integral parts of the “State”

within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution.3-4 A policy

certainly cannot be axed for its alleged failure to comply with

any  of  the  provisions  of  Part  IV.   Neither  can  the  Courts

charter a course, merely on the strength of the provisions of

the said Part of the Constitution, if the effect thereof would be

to lay down a policy.  However, in a situation where the field is

open and uncovered by any government policy, to guide and

control everyday governmental action, surely, in the exercise of

jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution, parameters

can be laid down by this  Court consistent  with the objects

enumerated  by  any  of  the  provisions  of  Part  IV.   Such  an

3 Naresh Shridhar Mirajkar & Ors. Vs. State of Maharashtra & Ors. –AIR 1967 SC 1=(1966) 3 SCR 744

4 Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalvaru Vs. State of Kerala & Anr. – (1973) 4 SCC 225 (Para 1703)

1

Page 15

exercise would be naturally time bound i.e. till the Legislature

or  the Executive,  as the case may be,  steps in to  fulfill  its

constitutional  role  and authority  by  framing an appropriate

policy.  

8. Article  38 and 39 of  the  Constitution enjoin  upon the

State a duty to consistently endeavour to achieve social and

economic justice to the teeming millions of the country who

even today live behind an artificially drawn poverty line.  What

can be the surer way in the march forward than by ensuring

avoidance of unproductive expenditure of public funds.  This

is how we view the present matter and feel the necessity of

exercise  of  our  jurisdiction  under  Article  142   of  the

Constitution to proceed further.  

9. It is neither possible nor feasible or even necessary to try

and  encompass  the  myriad  situations  where  government

advertisements  are  issued.   Indeed,  the  situations  and

circumstances;  events  and  occasions  on  which  government

advertisements  are  issued  are  infinite.   Nevertheless,  an

attempt can be made to arrive at a broad categorization for the

purpose of an illustrative understanding.   

1

Page 16

Advertisements  highlighting  completion  of  a fixed period of the Government’s Tenure

Governments at the Centre as well as in the States often

bring out advertisements on completion of a number of days,

months and years of governance.  In such advertisements, not

only the ‘achievements’ are highlighted even the different tasks

which  are  in  contemplation  are  enumerated.   By  way  of

example  one  of  the  points  highlighted  may  be  supply  of

electricity to each and every village.  Though the achievements

of a Government should not be a matter of publicity and really

ought to be a matter of perception to be felt by the citizens on

the results achieved, such advertisements do have the effect of

keeping the citizens informed of the government functioning

and therefore would be permissible.   

Advertisements announcing projects:

On an everyday basis both the Government at the Centre

as well as in different States issue advertisements announcing

events like laying of  the foundation of different development

projects or the inauguration of projects completed. In many of

such  advertisements  the  results  obtained  in  the  particular

1

Page 17

field covered by the advertisement and the plan/targets for the

future are highlighted.  Though such advertisements may look

like a report card of the Government there is an element of

informative  content  in  such  advertisements  inasmuch  as

information is conveyed to the citizens as regards government

programmes, policies and achievements.  

Advertisements  issued  on  the  occasion  of birth/death anniversaries and such other events:

Government advertisements are issued in the memory of

great  personalities  who  occupy  a  significant  place  in  our

history, such as, the father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.

While  such  persons  must  certainly  be  remembered,  what,

however,  would  not  be  justified  is  several  similar,  if  not

identical, advertisements issued by different Departments on

the  same  occasion  as  is  happening  today.   One  single

advertisement issued by a Central Agency should be enough to

commemorate the anniversaries of the few acknowledged and

undisputed public figures whose contribution to the National

Cause cannot raise any dispute or debate.   

1

Page 18

Advertisement  issued  on  certain  other  occasions,  for

instance, to mark the centenary year of the Patna High Court

does not serve any purpose and must be avoided.  Institutions

need not  be glorified.  They must earn glory by contribution

and work.   

Advertisements announcing policies and benefits for public:

All advertisements that fall within this category would be

in public  interest.   Such advertisements,  as  for  example  in

respect of the National Savings Schemes informing the public

about  benefits  under  the  Scheme,  are  purely  informational

and  make  people  aware  of  their  rights  and  entitlements.

Similarly, advertisements issued to generate public awareness

would also be justified on the touchstone of public interest.

By way of illustration, an advertisement issued by the Ministry

of  Health  and  Family  Welfare  informing  the  public  of

preventable  disease,  safeguards  to  be  taken,  vaccination

programmes for the children, etc. would be highly informative

and, therefore, justified.  

1

Page 19

10. A connected facet of the matter which cannot be ignored

is the power of the Government to give/award advertisements

to  selected  media  houses  and  the  concomitant  issue  of

freedom of press. Award of advertisements, naturally, brings

financial  benefit  to  the  particular  media  house/newspaper

group. Patronization of any particular media house(s) must be

avoided and award of  advertisements  must  be  on an equal

basis  to  all  newspapers  who  may,  however,  be  categorized

depending upon their circulation.  The D.A.V.P. guidelines do

not  deal  with the  said  aspect  of  the  matter  and hence  the

necessity of incorporating the same in the present directions

to ensure the independence, impartiality and the neutrality of

the fourth estate which is vital to the growth and sustenance

of democracy will have to be weighed and considered by us.   

11. An analysis of the Draft Guidelines as prepared by the

Committee set up by this Court in the case may now be made.

The  applicability  of  these  Guidelines  is  to  all  Government

advertisements other than classifieds and in all  mediums of

communication,  thereby  including  internet  advertising.  The

objective  of  these  Guidelines  emphasize  the  Government’s

1

Page 20

responsibility  to  disseminate  information  necessary  for  the

public  to  know  about  the  policies  and  programmes  of

Government. It principally spells out five principles to regulate

the contents  of advertisements, namely,  

i) advertising  campaigns  are  to  be  related  to

government responsibilities,     

ii) materials should be presented in an objective, fair

and  accessible  manner  and  designed  to  meet

objectives of the campaign,  

iii) not  directed  at  promoting  political  interests  of  a

Party,

iv) campaigns must be justified and undertaken in an

efficient and cost-effective manner and  

v) advertisements  must  comply  with  legal

requirements  and  financial  regulations  and

procedures.  

The five broad Content Regulations contained in the draft

guidelines  framed  by  the  Committee  are  similar  to  the

provisions   found  in  the  Australian  guidelines.   However,

2

Page 21

under  each broad head specific  regulatory  parameters  have

been indicated which seem to  embody what  would be good

practices in the Indian context.   

12. While under the first head the requirement of conformity

of  Government  advertisements  with  dissemination  of

information relating to Government’s constitutional and legal

obligations and the corresponding rights and entitlements of

citizens  is  being  stressed  upon,  under  the  second  head

objective  presentation  of  the  materials  contained  in  an

advertisement bearing in mind the target audience has been

emphasized.    Under the third head, the Guidelines state that

advertisement  materials  must  not:  (a)  mention  the  party  in

government  by  its  name,  (b)  attack  the  views or  actions  of

other  parties  in opposition,  (c)  include any party  symbol  or

logo, (d) aim to influence public support for a political party or

a  candidate for election or (e) refer or link to the websites of

political  parties  or  politicians.  It  is  also  stated  in  the

Guidelines that photographs of leaders should be avoided and

only  the  photographs  of  the  President/  Prime  Minister  or

Governor/  Chief  Minister  shall  be  used  for  effective

2

Page 22

government  messaging.   The  fourth  head  deals  with  cost

effectiveness of an advertisement campaign and measures to

cut down avoidable expenses.  A somewhat restricted range of

advertising  activity  on  the  eve  of  the  elections  is  also

recommended.   Appointment  of  an  Ombudsman  to  hear

complaints  of  violation  of  the  norms  and  to  suggest

amendments  thereto  from  time  to  time  beside  special

performance  audit  by  the  concerned  Ministries  is  also

recommended.

13. The Union Government and the State of Bihar have filed

their responses to the guidelines suggested by the Committee.

The State of Bihar suggests that some of the recommendations

of the Committee, details of which need not be noticed, are

somewhat  vague  and  require  a  more  precise  definition  or

meaning.  The only aspect of the suggestions where the State

has  responded  emphatically  is  with  regard  to  the

recommendation to confine the  publication of photographs of

the President and the Prime Minister of the country and the

Governor and the Chief Minister of the State.  According to the

State of Bihar such a restriction should not be imposed.

2

Page 23

14. The  Union  in  its  response  to  the  guidelines  of  the

Committee  has  been  more  categorical  in  suggesting  certain

changes as well as deletion of some of the recommendations.

It will,  therefore, be necessary to specifically notice the said

objections raised by the Union.   

Content  of  the Recommendations

Response of the Union

(1)  Object of Guidelines

(a)   To prevent arbitrary use of public funds for advertising by public authorities.

The  meaning  of  the  word “arbitrary”  according  to  the Union  needs  to  be  more specifically defined.

(b)  To  exclude  the  possibility of any misuse of public funds on advertisement campaign in order to gain political mileage by  the  political establishments.

According  to  the  Union  the expression  “political mileage”  is  inappropriate and should be deleted.

(2)   5 Principles of Content Regulation

(a)  Clause (vii) under the 2nd point  of  the  5  principles recommended  by  the Committee  –  Every  effort should be made to pre-test the material in case of large scale campaign   with  target audiences.

According to the Union this should  be  done  only  when the  same  is  feasible  and whenever  public  interest  so demands.

2

Page 24

(b)  Clause (c)(i)  under the 4th point  of  the  5  principles  of Content Regulation states that “The Government shall decide and  announce  beforehand,  a list of  personalities on whose birth  or  death  anniversaries, advertisements  could  be released  every  year  and specify  which Ministry/Department  could release the same.

According  to  the  Union  the words “decide and announce beforehand” may be deleted as the  same is  not  feasible since  issuance  of advertisement depends on a host  of  factors  like availability  of  funds,  last minute  changes  and  the priorities of the government.

(c) Clause (d) of the 4th point of the  5  principles  of  Content Regulation states that “as far as possible, during the period prior  to  elections,  only  those advertisements  required  by law (such as public health and safety  advisories  or  job  and contract advertisements) alone be  released  by  the governments.  

According  to  the  Union advertisement  that  serve public  interest  may  be issued at any point of time.  

(3) Ombudsman

The  suggestion  of  the Committee  with  regard  to appointment  of  the Ombudsman  is  in  the following  terms:  “The Government  shall  appoint  an Ombudsman who shall be an eminent expert independent of the  Government  to  receive complaints  of  violations  of Guidelines and to recommend action in accordance with the Guidelines.”

The  Union  objects  to  the same and seeks deletion  of the said recommendation as also  the  recommendation with  regard  to  separate performance  audit  of  each Ministry  and  publication  of the  result  of  such  audit. According  to  the  Union  the Government  has  inbuilt machinery for redressal and for audit purposes.

2

Page 25

15. A consideration of the objections filed by the Union would

go  to  show  that  the  Union  seriously  disagrees  with  the

recommendations of the Committee in respect of the following

matters:  

(1) restricted  publication  of  photographs  of  the

Government  functionaries  and  political  leaders

alongwith the advertisement etc.  

(2) appointment of an Ombudsman  

(3) the  recommendation  with  regard  to  performance

audit by each Ministry.   

(4) embargo  on  advertisements  on  the  eve  of  the

elections.

16. The  rest  of  the  objections  are  really  in  the  nature  of

suggestions which having been considered we are of the view

that incorporation of the said suggestions made by the Union

or otherwise would not make any substantial difference to the

impact  and  effect  of  the  said  recommendations.   It  is  the

recommendations  with  regard  to  the  publication  of

photographs;  appointment  of  Ombudsman;  carrying  out

independent  audit  and  embargo  on  advertisements  during

2

Page 26

election time that will have to be specifically dealt with in some

details.

17. The  remaining  recommendations  of  the  Committee

appear  to  be  comprehensive  and  based  on  an  analytical

approach of the best practices prevailing in other jurisdictions.

The  said  recommendations,  in  our  considered  view,  would

serve public interest by enabling dissemination of information

and spreading awareness amongst the citizens not only of the

government  policies;  achievements  made  and  targets  to  be

reached but also the rights and entitlements of  the citizens

including the availability of a host of welfare measures.   The

said recommendations,  therefore,  commend to the Court for

acceptance and are accordingly accepted.

18. At this juncture we may very briefly deal with the with

the situation prevailing in other jurisdictions across the globe.

While, undoubtedly there  can be no blind adherence to the

practices  followed  in  other  jurisdictions  as  what  may  be

appropriate to another country may not be ideal in the Indian

context,  the correct approach will be to discern some of the

best practices prevailing in such jurisdictions and thereafter to

test the relevance of the same to our own country.  Though the

2

Page 27

recitals contained in the Report of the Committee do mention a

consideration  of  such  good  practices  prevailing  in  other

jurisdictions  there  is  however  no  discussion  or  even  an

indication of the precise contents of  the practices that were

found by the Committee to be in existence in other countries.

It  has  therefore  become  necessary  for  us  to  deal  with  the

matter though very briefly.  In this regard we may usefully,

though  illustratively,  make  a  reference  to  certain  practices

prevailing  in  Canada,  United  Kingdom,  New  Zealand  and

Australia.   

19. Insofar as Canada(Ontario) is concerned, it appears that

the  object  of  issuing  a  government  advertisement  is  :  (i)  to

inform the public of current or proposed government policies,

programs or services available to them; (ii) to inform the public

of their rights and responsibilities under the law and (iii) to

encourage  or  discourage  specific  social  behaviour  in  public

interest.  Such advertisements are not to include the name,

voice or image of any functionary of the State and the primary

objective  of  an  advertisement  ought  not  to  be  to  foster  a

positive  impression  of  the  ruling  government  or  a  negative

2

Page 28

impression  of  any  person,  group  or  party  critical  of  the

government.

20. In some of the foreign jurisdictions there is a mechanism

for review of advertisements on fixed parameters even before

they  are  published  and  publication/issuance  thereof  only

upon passing of  the required test.   In Australia and United

Kingdom, there is an added emphasis on the cost effectiveness

of advertising campaigns.  In Australia, advertising campaigns

of  more  than  a  particular  pecuniary  value  i.e.  1million

Australian dollars require to undergo a cost benefit analysis

wherein the best options to achieve the intended objective of

the  campaign  has  to  be  determined  before  launching  the

same.

21. The  good  practices  adopted  in  other  jurisdictions  as

noticed  above  do  find  adequate  reflection  in  the

recommendations of the Committee which further fortify our

conviction to adopt the same.   

22. This  will  require  the  Court  to  consider  the  different

aspects of a government advertisement campaign highlighted

earlier on which we have reserved our comments.  The first is

2

Page 29

with regard to publication of photographs of functionaries of

the  State  and  political  leaders  alonwith  the  advertisement

issued.   There  can  be  no  manner  of  doubt  that  one

government advertisement or the other coinciding with some

event  or  occasion  is  published  practically  every  day.

Publication of the photograph of an individual be a State or

party functionary not only has the tendency of associating that

particular individual with either the achievement(s) sought to

be highlighted or being the architect of the benefits in respect

of  which  information  is  sought  to  be  percolated.    

Alternatively, programmes/targets for the future as advertised

carry the impression of being associated with the particular

individual(s).    Photographs,  therefore,  have the potential  of

developing the personality cult and the image of a one or a few

individuals  which  is  a  direct  antithesis  of  democratic

functioning.   

23. The  legitimate  and  permissible  object  of  an

advertisement,  as earlier  discussed,  can always be achieved

without  publication  of  the  photograph  of  any  particular

functionary either in the State of  a political party.  We are,

2

Page 30

therefore,  of  the  view that  in  departure to  the  views of  the

Committee which recommended permissibility  of  publication

of the photographs of the President and Prime Minister of the

country and Governor or Chief Minister of the State alongwith

the advertisements, there should be an exception only in the

case of the President, Prime Minister and Chief Justice of the

country  who  may  themselves  decide  the  question.

Advertisements issued to commemorate the anniversaries  of

acknowledged personalities like the father of the nation would

of course carry the photograph of the departed leader.

24. Insofar  as  the  recommendation  with  regard  to  the

appointment of Ombudsman is concerned, we are of the view

that for ironing out the creases that are bound to show from

time to time in the implementation of the present directions

and to oversee such implementation the government should

constitute  a  three  member  body  consisting  of  persons  with

unimpeachable  neutrality  and  impartiality  and  who  have

excelled  in  their  respective  fields.   We  could  have  but  we

refrain from naming the specific persons and leave the said

exercise to be performed by the Union Government.   

3

Page 31

25. Insofar as performance/special audit is concerned, we do

not feel the necessity of any such special audit inasmuch as

the  machinery  available  is  adequate  to  ensure  due

performance as well as accountability and proper utilization of

public money.

26. If Government advertisements adhere to the objects and

parameters mentioned above we do not feel the necessity of

imposing a special curb on government advertisements on the

eve of the elections, as suggested by the Committee.   

27. In an earlier part of the present order we had indicated

the  power  of  the  purse  that  Government  advertisements

invariably involve.   Needless to say the concepts of  fairness

and  even  dispensation  to  all  media/publishing  houses  will

have to be maintained by the Government be it at the Centre

or the States.

28. We close the matters on the aforesaid note by approving

and adopting the recommendations of the Committee except

what has been specifically indicated above with regard to  

3

Page 32

(1) publication  of  photographs  of  the  Government

functionaries  and  political  leaders  alongwith  the

advertisement(s).  

(2) appointment of an Ombudsman  

(3) the  recommendation  with  regard  to  performance

audit by each Ministry.   

(4) embargo  on  advertisements  on  the  eve  of  the

elections.

29.  We also make it clear that the present directions issued

under Article 142 of the Constitution cannot be comprehensive

and there are several aspects of the matter which may have

escaped our attention at this stage.  In this regard, we would

like  to  clarify  that  it  is  not  the  intention  of  the  Court  to

attempt to lay down infallible and all comprehensive directions

to cover the issue at hand.  The gaps, if any, we are confident

would be filled up by the  executive  arm of  the  government

itself inasmuch as the attainment of constitutional goals and

values enshrined in Part IV of the Constitution is the conjoint

3

Page 33

responsibility of the three organs of the State i.e. legislative,

executive and the judiciary, as earlier discussed.

………..........………………………J.        [RANJAN GOGOI]

…………..........……………………J.        [PINAKI CHANDRA GHOSE]

NEW DELHI, MAY 13, 2015.

3