HC notice to govt on delegation of authority to advt body

The Delhi High Court has sought the Centre's response on a plea challenging the scope of power and authority exercised by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) over advertisers and broadcasters.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar also issued notice to the Ministries of Information and Broadcasting, Consumer Affairs and AYUSH, along with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and ASCI.
The PIL has sought a declaration from the court that the Ministries cannot delegate their legislative and judicial functions to ASCI, which is merely a self-regulatory body.
The bench sought the responses before the next date of hearing, February 21, 2018.

Petitioner Sameer Jain has stated that a "private self regulatory body or a self styled watchdog of advertising content in India has assumed the authority of a court of law and is passing binding orders of civil consequences on the basis of excessive delegation of power to it by the ministries."
The plea said that the ASCI processes complaints received against advertisements through a judicial tribunal-like body called the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC). It said the CCC comprised advertising professionals and some civil society members, but not a single technical or judicial member.

The petitioner contended that the CCC essentially acted like a judicial/quasi judicial tribunal, having trappings of a civil court and passes orders that have a bearing on the fundamental rights of citizens.

"The composition of the CCC is arbitrary and follows no principled criteria. It is essentially a group of private individuals, adjudicating questions of constitutional importance," it added.
It said that advertisers, against whom the complaints were received, were not allowed any legal representation while their fundamental rights were being adjudicated upon. "Moreover, the advertisers could not even cross-examine the complainant," the plea said.
"The procedure adopted by the ASCI to process complaints is arbitrary and in blatant violation of principles of natural justice," the petition added.