PIL objects to use of 'Satyamev Jayate' for TV show; Bombay HC asks Aamir Khan, Star TV to respond

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday sought a response from actor Aamir Khan and Star TV to a Public Interest Litigation filed by an activist taking objection to the use of words ‘Satyameva Jayate’ for their television programme. In his petition, activist Manoranjan Roy said the words ‘Satyamev Jayate’ form part of the Emblem of India and hence their use is violative under the State Emblem of India (Prohibition and Improper Use) Act and State Emblem of India (Regulation of Use) Rules. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in its affidavit, in response to the petition, said the use of phrase ‘Satyameva Jayate’ was not violative of the Act and Rules. [caption id=“attachment_2522746” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Aamir Khan. Getty Images[/caption] “The Act and Rules prohibit improper use of the State Emblem of India as a whole. There is no provision which prohibits the use of its part like ‘Satyameva Jayate’, the lion, the bull, the horse and so on,” said the affidavit filed by MHA Under Secretary Pradeep Pandey. “Hence the use of the words ‘Satyameva Jayate’ in TV programme does not violate any provision of the Act and Rules,” the affidavit said. The court, however, queried that if tomorrow someone else uses the Emblem as a whole and not the phrase, then will the Union government hold the same view. A division bench of Justices AS Oka and GS Kulkarni directed Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh to appear with regard to the petition on 20 April. The court also directed Star TV and Aamir Khan to file their affidavits by 20 April. Satyameva Jayate, a show on social issues hosted by Aamir Khan, was telecast on Star TV in 2012 and 2014. PTI