IN A SIGNIFICANT RULING with far-reaching political and legal implications, the Supreme Court on Wednesday quashed the July 31 Madras High Court’s interim order that had restrained the Tamil Nadu government from using Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s name and photograph in government welfare scheme advertisements. The Court also imposed a cost of ₹10 lakh on Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (‘DMK’) Member of Parliament C. V. Shanmugam, who had filed the original petition before the High Court.
Dismissing the writ petition pending before the High Court, Chief Justice B.R. Gavai, heading a bench also comprising Justices K. Vinod Chandran and N.V. Anjaria, directed that the fine of Rs. 10 lakhs be utilised for welfare schemes benefiting the underprivileged in the State.
“Time and again, we have observed that political battles should be settled before the electorate. Courts should not be used for this,” Chief Justice Gavai observed while pronouncing the order.
The Supreme Court was hearing an appeal filed by the Tamil Nadu government and the ruling DMK party against the High Court’s July 31 interim order, which had prohibited the use of names or portraits of living persons, former Chief Ministers, ideological leaders, or political party symbols in publicity material for government schemes.
Criticising the selective nature of the challenge, the Supreme Court said it saw no justification in targeting only the Tamil Nadu government’s welfare schemes using Chief Minister Stalin’s name and photographs in their publicity. “The planting of schemes in the name of political leaders is a phenomenon that is followed across the country,” the bench observed, “When such schemes are floated in the name of all leaders of political parties, we do not appreciate the anxiety of the petitioner to choose only one political party and one political leader. Singling out only one political leader shows the intentions of the petitioner.”
