Madras HC Curbs Politician’s Names, Photos in TN Govt Schemes

• The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government not to name welfare schemes after living political personalities.
• The court has also barred the use of photographs of former Chief Ministers or ideological leaders in government advertisements.
• The ruling came during a hearing for a public interest litigation filed by AIADMK MP CV Shanmugam.

GG News Bureau
Chennai, 1st Aug: The Madras High Court has issued an interim directive to the Tamil Nadu government, ordering it to stop using the names of living political personalities or photographs of former Chief Ministers and ideological leaders in its welfare scheme publicity materials. The ruling, delivered by a bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice Sunder Mohan, came while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by AIADMK MP CV Shanmugam.

The court, citing previous Supreme Court directives and guidelines on government advertisements, stated that while a photograph of the incumbent Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin, is permissible, the inclusion of images of late leaders or party symbols is “prima facie impermissible.”

The order specifically bars the use of any living political leader’s name in the titles of government schemes. This directly affects recently launched programs like “UNGALUDAN STALIN” (‘Stalin With You’) and a similar health program that was scheduled to be launched.

Senior Counsel Vijay Narayan, representing the petitioner, argued that the state was misusing public funds for political promotion, violating established legal norms. The state government, while denying the claims and questioning the authenticity of some pamphlets, did not receive a favorable response from the court, which held that any such material containing politically symbolic visuals would violate legal norms.

The High Court clarified that its order does not prevent the government from implementing welfare schemes, but rather restricts the manner in which they are publicized. The case has been adjourned for further hearing on August 13.