Banners:HC reserves order on plea against Chennai Corporation

The Madras High Court on Monday reserved its order on a plea moved by a hoarding printers' association alleging that the Chennai Corporation was trying to monopolise setting up of banners by amending the definition of 'hoardings' in the Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act.

The corporation was also not recognising banners put up in private spaces as hoardings under the act and denying permission for its erection, it was submitted.

After hearing arguments, the first bench of Chief Justice AP Sahi and Justice Subramonium Prasad said they were reserving orders.

"..a banner complying with all the existing conditions if put up in a place not owned by the corporation is not a hoarding as per the new definition," senior counsel ARL Sundaresan, representing the Chennai Hoardings Association, said.

The association contended that its fundamental right enshrined under the constitution has been violated by the amendment which excluded private places from definition of hoardings and permitting it only in municipal lands.

Claiming it to be a hostile discrimination, the petitioner submitted that the Supreme Court has already settled that there cannot be a separate law for hoardings in private and public property.

Opposing the plea, advocate general Vijay Narayan argued that the amendment would not amount to discrimination and it has been brought in to control menace of unauthorised digital banners.