Government asked to respond to plea against roadside banners in Tamil Nadu

The Supreme Court Friday sought a response from the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government on a plea seeking to restrain political parties from erecting digital banners on roadside across the state. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi sought the response within six weeks on the petition filed by a charitable trust 'In Defence of Environment and Animals' and asked as to why the plea should not be kept open, enabling the Madras High Court to monitor the developments in the case.

"Issue notice, fixing a returnable date within six weeks, to show cause as to why the writ petition should not be kept open to enable the High Court to monitor the developments that may take place in the subject matter from time to time," the bench, also comprising Justice S K Kaul, said. The plea had sought preventing encroachments via religious symbols and political graffiti, advertisements by private parties on natural resources like mountains, hills, hillocks, avenue trees and on national and state highways.

The Madras High Court had on December 19 last issued an interim order restraining political parties from putting up digital banners on roadside unless the state government and local bodies came out with a clear undertaking that the rules and various orders passed by the court would be strictly implemented and no violation would take place.

The court while passing the orders had said such banners distracted the road users, especially two-wheeler riders, and obstructed pedestrians. The high court had expressed its displeasure over the unjustified reasons given by authorities in the past five years for failing to implement court orders regarding unauthorised banners.

(With inputs from agencies.)