[International Chess Olympiad] Madras High Court orders TN government to include photos of President and Prime Minister in all ads

The Madras High Court, on Thursday, directed the Tamil Nadu government to ensure that photographs of both the President and Prime Minister of India are published in all the advertisements relating to the 44th International Chess Olympiad [R Rajesh Kumar v State of Tamil Nadu].The order was passed by a bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice S Ananthi which said that the State government should ensure that if any international event is hosted in the State, the directives issued by the Supreme Court in the case of Common Cause should be adhered to. "Considering the national interest and the directives of the Apex Court in the case of Common Cause, it should be ensured that even if the dignitaries like the Hon'ble President or the Prime Minister of India accept the invitation for an international event or not, the advertisements should contain their photographs, inasmuch as they represent the country at the international level," the Court directed. .The petitioner, R Rajesh Kumar was aggrieved since the advertisements published in various media showed pictures of the State’s Chief Minister alone.Reliance was placed by the petitioner on the judgment of the Supreme Court in Common Cause v Union of India which gave guidelines on content regulation of government advertising.The petitioner said that in no case, the prominence of the office of the President and Prime Minister could be forgotten. Further, it was stated that the advertisements were funded by public money and therefore, the respondents should seek an apology from the public..The Advocate General, however, clarified that the State never intended to exclude the dignitaries from the advertisements. It was submitted that when the tournament was being organised, the Presidential elections had not concluded.With regard to the Prime Minister, it was stated that his consent for the inaugural function was only received on the July 22 and his images were published pursuant to that..This submission was rejected by the court stating that the photograph of the Prime Minister was required to be published even if he could not have inaugurated the event.“What has to be noted here is that despite Parliament session, the Prime Minister has decided to inaugurate the function, considering the significance of the event at the international level,” the bench highlighted..The Court noted that international events hosted depict the image of a country in the international fora and such events not only show the country’s development, but its capability to organise an international event at such short notice.“The image of the nation should be of foremost concern to everyone and such representation, obviously, would be under the aegis of the Hon'ble President and Prime Minister of India, apart from the Chief Minister of the State, where the tournament is hosted,” said the bench..Additionally, the court directed the State to be careful in ensuring that the directives in the Common Cause judgment were adhered to.The prayer for an apology was denied by the court reasoning that the best apology was to respect the public’s sentiments.“We find realization of the mistake by the organizers and the best way to seek apology is to respect the sentiments of the public and make the international event a grand success by leaving an indelible mark of our nation at the international level.”.Advocates Aditya Dewan and VR Shanmuganathan represented the petitioner while the respondents were represented by Advocate General R Shunmugasundaram, Government Pleader P Thilakkumar, Government Advocate Shakeena, Additional Advocate General Veera Kathiravan, Additional Solicitor General L Victoria Gowri and Central Government Standing Counsel S Jeyasingh..[Read Order]