Munmun Kaur
Published On: January 21, 2022 at 11:40 IST
The Kerala High Court on January 20, issued a set of directions regarding the illegal installation of flags, boards and banners of political parties in public places.
Justice Devan Ramachandran ordered that no advertising agency is allowed to put up banners/boards or flags without obtaining the proper sanction from the Secretary of the local self-government institutions. Also, such installation shall necessarily have the agency’s addresses and phone numbers displayed at its lower end so that necessary action can be taken in the event of any violation found against them by the competent authorities.
The Kerala High Court further fixed the personal responsibility on Secretaries of the local self-government institutions to remove all the unauthorized boards/banners etc. and return them to the perpetrators without dumping them in the public waste disposal systems, within a period of thirty days.
The Court added that in case any unauthorized board/banner etc. that is contrary to the directions of the Court, is found after the stipulated 30 days’ time period, it will be the personal responsibility of the Secretaries of local self-government institutions, as also the field staff which will invite necessary action as per Law.
The Kerala High Court also ordered that printing press/ advertising agencies, who are found to have illegally installed such flag posts on behalf of political parties and others, will have their licenses cancelled. Further, Court ordered stringent action under the Indian Penal Code and Land Conservancy Act be taken against the perpetrators.
Earlier, on November 25, the High Court had said that government officials who failed to remove new flag posts in public spaces since November 1 will face a jail term of up to 5 years and a fine up to 2 Lakhs as per Section 7 of the Kerala Land Conservancy Act. Although, the problem of illegal installations continues to persist.
