Don’t use name of living persons, former CMs or political leaders in govt schemes: Madras High Court tells Tamil Nadu govt

The court clarified that the government welfare schemes should not use pictures of former CMs or ideological leaders

In an interim order passed against the Tamil Nadu government, the Madras High Court has said that the names of living persons, former chief minister or political leader should not be used while launching or operating a government scheme.

Making it clear that while launching and operating a government welfare scheme, the advertisements should not contain the name of any living personality, photograph of any former Chief Minister/ideological leader or party insignia, emblem, or flag of the party.

“Therefore, we are inclined to pass an interim order to the effect that while launching and operating government welfare schemes through various advertisements, the name of any living personality, photograph of any former Chief Minister/ideological leaders or party insignia/emblem/flag of respondent No.4 shall not be included,” the court said.

The court, however, citing the Supreme Court in State of Karnataka v Common Cause and others, said that the photo of the current CM can be used.

A division bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice Sunder Mohan said that the, apex court had clarified that publication of a photograph of the incumbent CM was permissible but use of photographs of ideological leaders or former CMs was prima facie against the directives of the Supreme Court.

The bench also said that the name of political personalities in the nomenclature of a government scheme can be used in the schemes.

At the same time, it said that using the name of any ruling political party was against the directives of the Supreme Court and the Election Commission of India. The court clarified that the government welfare schemes should not use pictures of former CMs or ideological leaders.

It also said that it had not passed any order against launching, implementation or operation of welfare schemes of the government. The court added that pendency of the petition shall not forbear the ECI from initiating proceedings based on the petitioner's complaints.

The HC’s interim order came while hearing a petition filed by AIADMK MP CV Shanmugam seeking to restrain Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party from using CM Stalin's name for its Mudhalvarin Mugavari, a public grievance redressal scheme introduced by the DMK government.

Through an interim injunction, it was also sought to restrain the ruling DMK from introducing or re-branding any scheme in the name of any living personality pending the disposal of the main plea, according to LiveLaw.

Senior Advocate Vijay Narayan, arguing for Shanmugam argued that the public outreach programme implemented using public funds, had been using the name of the CM in its nomenclature and using pictures of certain political leaders belonging to the DMK party.

It was argued that the action violated various judicial pronouncements of the Supreme Court as well as the Government Advertisement (Content Regulation) Guidelines, 2024.

Narayan for Shanmugam told the court that the party logo and emblem was being printed in the outreach programme, launching the beneficial schemes of the government, to which advocate general PS Raman opposed. He submitted that it had been filed without clear pleading and based on some printouts which were not government publications.

The AG said that neither any pictures of political leaders nor the emblem or logo of political parties was being used by the state government.

Senior Advocate P Wilson for DMK also said that the plea was politically motivated as the petitioner was an MP of the opposition party and only wanted to malign the image of popular leaders of DMK.