Tell us about steps taken on government ads: HC to Centre

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the central government about the steps taken on the Supreme Court guidelines on government advertisements. The court was hearing a plea seeking restraint on advertisements allegedly glorifying Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his AAP.

A bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath asked the central government counsel about the steps taken on the apex court guidelines issued in May, and fixed the matter for July 27 for further hearing.

Congress leader Ajay Maken filed a public interest litigation before the high court, and sought direction to restrain the "Delhi government from airing its recent audio-visual TV advertisement and also its recent advertisement".

Maken, who heads the Congress unit in Delhi, also sought direction to restrain the Delhi government from publishing Kejriwal's name in any of its current or future advertisements.

He alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party was violating the Supreme Court guidelines on government advertisement.

The Supreme Court in May prohibited the use of photographs of political leaders, including ministers, in advertisements issued by the government and its agencies, saying that it leads to promotion of a personality cult.