Bombay High Court directs State to form committee to prevent misuse of public funds on govt ads

The Bombay High Court recently directed the State of Maharashtra to establish a three-member committee to ensure that there is no abuse or misuse of public funds for issuing advertisements for extraneous purposes [Editor's forum v Union of India]..This committee must be set up by December 14, the Court directed.The order was passed in the wake of the State's failure to comply with a Supreme Court ruling that called for strict accountability in government advertising practices, particularly to prevent the misuse of public resources for political ends.A Bench led by Justice MS Sonak and Justice Jitendra Jain expressed strong discontent over the absence of an active committee.“There is no justification for not having a committee in the State of Maharashtra," the Court said. The Court highlighted the Supreme Court's decision in Common Cause vs. Union of India in which it was held that advertising campaigns through print and electronic media by the government and its instrumentalities for furthering political motives of the political party in power is malafide, arbitrary and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. .The High Court was hearing a petition filed by the Editors’ Forum raising serious allegations against the Maharashtra government and various agencies including the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC), City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC). The petition accused these entities of violating several Government Resolutions (GRs) from 2001, 2008, 2009 and 2015, specifically pointing to improper advertisement distribution practices, unauthorized placements in non-approved media outlets and dealings with non-compliant creative agencies. In their defense, the State representatives claimed they were adhering to existing guidelines; however, the Court found the justifications inadequate.In its ruling, the Court mandated that the oversight committee be formed by December 14, 2024. “If the committee directed by the Supreme Court were to be in place, we would have had no difficulties directing it to look into these instances of violations alleged in the petition,” the Bench said. .It proceeded to direct the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra to take personal responsibility for establishing the committee.“The Chief Secretary, State of Maharashtra, shall personally ensure that such a three-member body is constituted,” the Bench underscored. .Advocate SB Talekar along with advocates Madhavi Ayyappan, Chagan Thakare and Neha Lalsare appeared for the petitioner.Additional Government Pleader Abhay Patki represented the State of Maharashtra.Advocates Heena Shaikh and MV Kini appeared for BEST.Advocate Dhruti Kapadia along with advocate Anuja Tirmali appeared for BMC.Advocate BB Sharma appeared for CIDCO.Advocate Prashant Chawan along with advocate Poonam Sheth appeared for MIDC..[Read Order]