Madras High Court declines to close contempt plea against K Palaniswamy, O Panneerselvam

Chennai: The Madras High Court on Tuesday declined to close a contempt petition filed against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswamy and his deputy O Panneerselvam for allegedly violating its order putting a ban on the use of living persons’ pictures in banners and hoardings.

Justice S Vaidyanathan posted the contempt petition filed by social activist Traffic KR Ramaswamy to 5 January, rejecting the prayer by the government pleader who wanted the matter to be closed in view of the order passed by the first bench allowing the use of pictures of living persons in banners.

He said the order on the contempt plea can be passed only after going through the observations made by the first bench which set aside his 24 October order imposing a blanket ban on banners or hoardings carrying images of people who are alive.

The petition sought to punish Palaniswamy and Panneerselvam for violating the single judge’s order, when it was in force, during the death anniversary of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa.

In its 20 December order, the first bench had made it clear that such materials should not be placed encroaching public or private properties.

However, the bench had made it clear that it was setting aside only the ban on display of pictures of living persons. Other portions of the single judge’s order, including those related to steps for preventing disfigurement of walls and other places, would still be operational.

It had passed the order on an appeal by the city corporation which contended that such a ban on the use of pictures of living persons would have adverse impact on the advertisement industry.