Abetment of suicide

Abetment of suicide (Ss. 306, 107 IPC)

Chitresh Kumar Chopra vs State, Criminal Appeal No. 1473 of  2009 (DOD 10 August, 2009)

In order to prove that the accused abetted commission of suicide by a person, it has to be established that: (i) the accused kept on irritating or annoying the deceased by words, deeds or wilful omission or conduct which may even be a wilful silence until the deceased reacted or pushed or forced the deceased by his deeds, words or wilful omission or conduct to make the deceased move forward more quickly in a forward direction; and (ii) that the accused had the intention to provoke, urge or encourage the deceased to commit suicide while acting in the manner noted above. Undoubtedly, presence of mens rea is the necessary concomitant of instigation.

NOTE:-  1. I think suicide note comes within the purview of Dying Declaration as contemplated in Section 32 clause 1 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. And Dying declaration can be the sole basis of conviction if it inspires the FULL CONFIDENCE of the Court. 2. In the case of married woman committing suicide within a period of seven years from the date of her marriage and it is shown that her husband or relative of her husband had subjected her to cruelty, the Court may presume, having regard to all the other circumstances of the case, that such suicide had been abetted by her husband or by relative of her husband (S. 113A, The Indian Evidence Act, 1872)

Need and Legal Possibility of Abrogation of Instant Triple Talaq vis-à-vis Skepticism on Practical Possibility of Uniform Civil Code in India

Need and Legal possibility of Abrogation of  Instant Triple Talaq vis-à-vis Skepticism on Practical Possibility of  Uniform Civil Code in India

Instant Triple Talaq (Talaq-ul-Biddat) encompasses both social and legal issues.  Right to freedom of religion enshrined in the Article 25(1) of the Constitution is circumscribed by the considerations of public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of the Part 111 thereof (ie other fundamental rights viz. equality, non-arbitrariness, non-discrimination, dignity, gender justice etc). Assuming that Instant Triple Talaq finds sanction in Islamic Sharia Law and further validated by the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, nevertheless, being a lesser right will have to give way to aforesaid constitutional right(s).  Moreover, the Article 25(2) fully empowers the State to make any law providing for social welfare and reform.  It is no gainsaid to emphasize that Triple Talaq is an archaic & retrogressive practice and a social vice grossly violating the dignity of women. If the State does away with this by enacting a law, any challenge to such measure of social welfare and reform on the premise that it impinges upon the religious freedom of any section may not survive in view of the said Article 25(2). (Note: Somewhat similar contentions may also be put-forth qua polygamy and Nikah Halala. Nikah Halala: If the woman after being divorced and after observing her waiting period (Iddat period) wished to marry another man, she can do so. This second husband by total coincidence and on his own accord also divorced her or died after having sexual intercourse with her, then after observing the full waiting period, she can remarry her first husband).

However, idea of Uniform Civil Code in India per se is highly intricate and debatable issue. In India, we have different set of laws for various religious communities relating to personal matters like marriage, divorce, adoption, maintenance and property known as personal laws.  UNIFORM CIVIL CODE is the proposal to replace the  PERSONAL LAWS of each  religious community in India with a common set governing every citizen irrespective of religion.  Article 44 of the Constitution exhorts the State to endeavor to secure for the citizens a UNIFORM CIVIL CODE throughout the territory of India. However, even a cursory glance through the Hindu Law-mostly codified (applicable on about 81% Indian population) and Mohammedan Law-mostly uncodified (applicable on largest minority i.e. Muslims constituting about 15% of Indian population) reveals that these laws vary in myriad ways both in theory and practice as applicable on people belonging to different caste, race, sects etc within a religious community. 

Notwithstanding having codified enacted Hindu laws (on inheritance, succession, adoption, marriage, divorce etc), customs/usages having force of law (as saved by said laws) govern different castes among Hindus as discernible from some examples given below:

1.   The Section 3 (g) of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 enumerating the “Degree of Prohibited Relationship” prohibits the marriage with a widowed bhabhi. However, Kareva marriage (also known as लत्ता/चादर उढ़ाना, चूड़ी पहनाना, हाथ रखना ) is prevalent in certain castes among Hindus and same has been saved by Section 5(iv) of HMA, 1955 (ie giving primacy to liberal custom/usage). The legal position qua Hindu Marriage may be summed up as “stricter enacted law gives way to liberal customs”.

2.   Section 29(2) of HMA, 1955 saves customary divorce prevalent in certain castes.

3.   Under Mitakshara Law a son (although now daughter also) can ask for partition of ancestral/HUF property from the father during his lifetime.  However, customary law in agriculturist communities among Hindus in northern India does not recognize such right of a son.

4.   Conditions governing adopted child and adoptive person as prescribed by Sections 10 & 11 of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 are subject to customs or usages applicable to parties.

Likewise, the Sunni and the Shia schools of Mohammedan Law  do have important points of differences on the matters of Marriage,  Talaq, Dower, Maternity, Guardianship, Maintenance, Gift, Waqf, Pre-emption, Wills, Inheritance e.g.  

1.    Among the Shias temporary marriage (Muta) is lawful but not so among the Sunnis.

2.    The Sunni law prescribes the presence of two male witnesses at the time of marriage which the Shia law does not deem it a necessary condition.

3.    Talaq under Sunni  laws may be effected orally or by a written document. Under Shia law a Talaq must be pronounced orally in the presence of two witnesses and a Talaq communicated in writing is not valid unless the husband is physically incapacitated. Most importantly, Shia Law does not recognize Talaq-ul-Biddat (Instant Triple Talaq).
   Khojas and Cutchi Memons Muslims are governed in the matters of inheritance and succession by old Hindu Law.
 The Articles 371A and 371G  further provide that no parliamentary law- dealing with religious or social practices of Nagas/Mizos, Naga/Mizo customary law and procedure, administration of civil and criminal justice involving decisions according to Naga/Mizo customary law- unless the Legislative Assemblies of Nagaland and Mizoram by  resolutions so decide.
Uniform Civil Code may indeed be a good proposition. Nonetheless, it's immensely pertinent to mention herein that The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 clearly enumerates the persons who are out of bounds in the form of ‘sapinda relationship’ and 'degree of prohibited relationship' for the purposes of marriage. At the same time it does not prohibit the same gotra marriage in toto. Marriage with a person placed beyond the third generation in the line of ascent through the mother, and the fifth generation in the line of ascent through the father is valid and legal.However, ultra sensitive disposition of certain people among Hindus especially in northern India over the issue of same gotra/same village/bhaichara/ghwand marriages sometimes even leading to bloodshed (Honour Killings) although Hindu Marriage Act, 1955  unequivocally permitting such marriages since 1955 shows that every good idea is not necessarily practicable and acceptable to all.

Hence, instead of chasing after an elusive and politically loaded notion of UNIFORM CIVIL CODE, need of hour is to remove the social vices (gender discrimination, archaic & retrogressive practices etc) from the different personal laws governing the different religious communities and to modernize (reform) them in sync with  the demand and challenges of the modern age to attain UNIFORMITY OF RIGHTS/EQUALITY OF LAWS (distinguishable from uniformity of laws) as far as possible in tune with fundamental rights enshrined in part 111 of the Constitution.

 NOTE:

1. Personal law is not included in the expression "laws in force" used in Articles 13(1) and 372(1) - Bombay High Court in the State Of Bombay vs Narasu Appa Mali, 1951; Supreme Court in the Ahmedabad Women Action Group vs Union Of India, 1997.

2.The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 apply to all citizens of India (except in Jammu and Kashmir) irrespective of their religious adherence. Moreover, vide Section 5 of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, a divorced woman and her former husband may declare, by affidavit or any other declaration in writing in such form as may be prescribed either jointly or separately, that they would prefer to be governed by the provisions of Section 125-128 of the CrPC, 1973.

3. (i) The Special Marriage Act, 1954 providing for a special form of marriage (vide S. 12 (2) the marriage may be solemnized in any form which the parties may choose to adopt subject to the conditions enumerated in the proviso thereto), for registration of such and certain other marriages and for divorce may be availed of by all citizens of India (except Jammu and Kashmir) irrespective of religion, ethnicity and linguistic affiliation. Moreover, vide S. 22 succession to the property of any person whose marriage is solemnized under said Act and to the issue of such marriage shall be regulated by the provisions of the Indian Succession Act, 1925. However, the Section 21A (inserted by Act 68 of 1976 in the said Act of 1954) has exempted the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jaina inter alia from the effects of section 21. (ii) The Indian Succession Act, 1925 and The Guardian and Wards Act, 1890 dealing with intestate and testamentary succession, and guardianship respectively applies to all citizens to varying degree

4. The Goa Uniform Civil Code (Goa Family Law):

(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goa_civil_code)

It  is a  set of civil laws that governs the residents of the Indian state of Goa  irrespective of religion, ethnicity or linguistic affiliation. The Goa civil code is largely based on the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867, which was introduced in Goa in 1870. Later, the code saw some modifications via  the Portuguese Gentile Hindu Usages Decrees of 1880, the Portuguese Decrees on Marriage and Divorce of 1910, the Portuguese Decrees on Canonical Marriages of 1946. The civil code was retained in Goa after its merger with the Indian Union in 1961. In 1981, the Government of India appointed a Personal Law Committee to determine if the non-uniform laws of the Union could be extended to Goa. The Goa Muslim Shariah Organization supported the move, but it was met with stiff resistance from the Muslim Youth Welfare Association and the Goa Muslim Women's Associations.

(i) SOME WAYS IN WHICH THE GOA CIVIL CODE IS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER INDIAN LAWS INCLUDE: A married couple jointly holds ownership of all the assets owned (before the marriage) or acquired (after the marriage) by each spouse. In case of a divorce, each spouse is entitled to a half share of the assets. However, the law also allows ante-nuptial agreements, which may state a different division of assets in case of a divorce. These agreements also allow the spouses to hold the assets acquired before marriage separately. Such agreements cannot be changed or revoked. A married person cannot sell the property without the consent of his/her spouse.The parents cannot disinherit their children entirely. At least half of their property has to be passed on to the children compulsorily. This inherited property must be shared equally among the children. Muslim men, who have their marriages registered in Goa, cannot practice polygamy. Also, there is no provision for a verbal divorce.

(ii) THE GOA CIVIL CODE IS NOT STRICTLY A UNIFORM CIVIL CODE, AS IT HAS SPECIFIC PROVISIONS FOR CERTAIN COMMUNITIES. FOR EXAMPLE: The Hindu men have the right to bigamy under specific circumstances mentioned in Codes of Usages and Customs of Gentile Hindus of Goa (if the wife fails to deliver a child by the age of 25, or if she fails to deliver a male child by the age of 30). For other communities, the law prohibits bigamy. The Roman Catholics can solemnize their marriages in church after obtaining a No Objection Certificate from the Civil Registrar. For others, only a civil registration of the marriage is accepted as a proof of marriage. The Catholics marrying in the church are excluded from divorce provisions under the civil law.  For Hindus, the divorce is permitted only on the grounds of adultery by the wife. The law has inequalities in case of adopted and illegitimate children.

.

Complaint, Preliminary Enquiry and FIR or Regular Case especially re Public Servants

Complaint, Preliminary Enquiry and FIR or Regular Case especially re Public Servants 

1). The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in the case of Lalita Kumari vs Govt. Of  U.P. &  Ors., WP (Criminal) No. 68 of 2008 (DOD 12 November, 2013) held thus:

i) Registration of FIR is mandatory under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, if the information discloses commission of a cognizable offence and no preliminary inquiry is permissible in such a situation.

 ii) If the information received does not disclose a cognizable offence but indicates the necessity for an inquiry, a preliminary inquiry may be conducted only to ascertain whether cognizable offence is disclosed or not.

iii) If the inquiry discloses the commission of a cognizable offence, the FIR must be registered. In cases where preliminary inquiry ends in closing the complaint, a copy of the entry of such closure must be supplied to the first informant forthwith and not later than one week. It must disclose reasons in brief for closing the complaint and not proceeding further.

iv) The police officer cannot avoid his duty of registering offence if cognizable offence is disclosed. Action must be taken against erring officers who do not register the FIR if information received by him discloses a cognizable offence.

v) The scope of preliminary inquiry is not to verify the veracity or otherwise of the information received but only to ascertain whether the information reveals any cognizable offence.

vi) As to what type and in which cases preliminary inquiry is to be conducted will depend on the facts and

circumstances of each case. The category of cases in which preliminary inquiry may be made are as under:

a) Matrimonial disputes/ family disputes

b) Commercial offences

c) Medical negligence cases

d) Corruption cases

e) Cases where there is abnormal delay/laches in initiating criminal prosecution, for example, over 3 months delay in reporting the matter without satisfactorily explaining the reasons for delay.

The aforesaid are only illustrations and not exhaustive of all conditions which may warrant preliminary

inquiry.

vii) While ensuring and protecting the rights of the accused and the complainant, a preliminary inquiry should be made time bound and in any case it should not exceed 7 days. The fact of such delay and the causes of it must be reflected in the General Diary entry. viii) Since the General Diary/Station Diary/Daily Diary is the record of all information received in a police station, we direct that all information relating to cognizable offences, whether resulting in registration of FIR or leading to an inquiry, must be mandatorily and meticulously reflected in the said Diary and the decision to conduct a preliminary inquiry must also be reflected, as mentioned above.

2. The chapter IX of the crime manual of the CBI also permits some kind of preliminary inquiry before registering the FIR inter alia against public servants in corruption cases. The ACB rules of various states also provide for the same.

3. Complaint in a corruption case against a public servant to CBI/ACB/Police is generally followed by PE (Preliminary Enquiry). And registration of FIR or Regular Case follows PE report. If PE does not find any prima facie incriminating material against a person, such person is not ordinarily arraigned as accused in the FIR. Otherwise, the very rationale of conducting PE before registering a FIR in such cases will be rendered superfluous and nugatory.  

THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE ON CONTENT REGULATION OF GOVERNMENT ADVERTISING

THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE ON CONTENT REGULATION OF GOVERNMENT ADVERTISING

1. The Supreme Court on May 13, 2015 in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 13 of 2003 (Common Cause vs Union of India), largely based on the recommendation of Prof. (Dr.) N.R. Madhava Menon Committee,   vide para 24 directed the central government to constitute a 3 member body consisting of persons with UNIMPEACHABLE NEUTRALITY AND IMPARTIALITY.  The para 24 of the said judgment reproduced as verbatim reads thus: “Insofar as the recommendation with regard to the appointment of Ombudsman is concerned, we are of the view that for ironing out the creases that are bound to show from time to time in the implementation of the present directions and to oversee such implementation the government should constitute a three member body consisting of persons with unimpeachable neutrality and impartiality and who have excelled in their respective fields. We could have but we refrain from naming the specific persons and leave the said exercise to be performed by the Union Government”.
2. Vide para 23 in the said judgment, the  SC had, amongst other things, barred publication of photos of leaders in government advertisements except those of the President, Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India.
3. The Supreme Court on 18 March 2016 in R.P. (C) NO. 1879-1881/2015 (State of Karnataka vs Common Cause and ors etc etc) modified its earlier order dated 13 May 2015 and allowed the publication of photos of the Governors and Chief Ministers. Further, in lieu of the photograph of the Prime Minister, the photograph of the Departmental (Cabinet) Minister/Minister In-charge of the concerned Ministry was allowed to be published, if so desired. In the States, similarly, the photograph of the Departmental (Cabinet) Minister/Minister In-charge in lieu of the photograph of the Chief Minister was allowed to be published, if so desired.
4. The Information & Broadcasting Ministry (then headed by Sh. Arun Jaitley Ji) on 6 April 2016 constituted a three-member committee to check violations of the Supreme Court guidelines with regard to content in government advertising in accordance with said SC judgment dated 13 May 2015. The Committee was constituted by I&B Ministry based on the recommendation of the three-member Selection Panel comprising Press Council of India Chairman Justice (retd) C K Prasad, I&B Secretary Sunil Arora and advertising professional PRASOON JOSHI. The Chairman and other members of the said 3 member committee with their brief profile are as follows:

a)      Sh. BB Tandon is the Chairman. He joined as Election commissioner in June 2001. He served as Chief Election Commissioner of India from May 16 2005 till June 29 2006. ( Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._B._Tandon )

b)      Sh. Rajat Sharma is the member. He is Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of “India TV”. He is also the President of the News Broadcasters Association. He is also a prime witness on the behalf of Sh. Arun Jaitley Ji against Arvind Kejrieal (Delhi CM) and others in a criminal defamation case filed by Sh. Arun Jaitley Ji against Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi CM) and others in Patiala House Court, Delhi.

c)      Piyush Pandey is also the member. He is an award-winning co-executive chairman and national creative director of Ogilvy & Mather India and vice-chairman of O&M Asia-Pacific. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2016.  Notable ad campaigns in India designed by Piyush Pandey include:

-          mera desh badal raha hai, aage badh raha hai". BJP government campaign outlining achievement made in first two years by Modi Government.

-          Bharatiya Janata Party campaign for Indian general election, 2014 with PRASOON JOSHI AND ABIR CHATTERJE.

(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piyush_Pandey )

As per the Terms of Reference, the Committee would address complaints from the general   public of violation on the implementation of the guidelines set out by Hon’ble Supreme Court. The Committee would also take suo motu cognizance of any violation / deviation of the guidelines of Hon’ble Supreme Court and recommend corrective action to the Ministry /Department. The Committee may recommend suitable changes to the Supreme Court guidelines to deal with new circumstances and situations that may arise from time to time, without making major policy changes within the policy direction of Supreme Court. The Committee shall not be bound by any legal rules of evidence and may follow such procedure that appears to it to be fair and proper for swift settlement of grievances. For all decisions of the Committee, the view of majority would prevail. The territorial jurisdiction of the committee would extend to advertisements issued by all – (a) Ministries/Departments of Government of India and Union Territory Administrations, (b) PSUs of Government of India, (c) Local bodies and other autonomous bodies/organizations established under statutes by Government of India/Union Territory Administrations.

5.  The Supreme Court on 28 April 2016 in Contempt Petition (C) No. 485/2015 in W.P.(C) No. 197/2004 (Centre for Public Interest Litigation versus Kewal Kumar Sharma & ors) vide para 6 in its judgment  ordered the State Governments  to also constitute their respective Committees in the spirit of the judgment of  13th May, 2015. It is noteworthy that the Petitioner’s counsel had pleaded inter alia that Supreme Court could consider arming the said Committees with certain additional powers to ensure effective enforcement of the duties cast on it by the judgment dated 13th May, 2015. The Supreme Court vide para 7 held thus “insofar as the arming/empowering the Committee with any further powers is concerned we do not think it necessary to do so at this stage. In paragraph 24 of the judgment of this Court dated 13th May, 2015 it has been clearly laid down that the Committee constituted would be responsible for ironing out the creases that may show from time to time in the implementation of the directions of the Court and also to oversee such implementation. In the event it becomes so necessary and the Committee, for any reasons, is unable to render effective and meaningful service it is always open for an aggrieved party or a conscious citizen to approach this Court once again”.
6. The Government of India, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting addressed a letter dated 23.05.2016 to the Government of NCT of Delhi to take up the matter and appoint a three-member Committee as directed by the Supreme Court. Consequent thereupon, the elected government in Delhi formed a three-member committee with its Chairman and other members as follows: a). Om Thanvi, Chairman [ he is Ex editor of Jansatta in Delhi (1999-2015) and Visiting Professor at the Centre for Media Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University], b). Shailesh Kumar, Member (Ex editor in chief and CEO News World India), c). Jagjeet Singh Deswal (IPS, retd and Ex private secretary to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Ji).
7. The High Court of Delhi on 4 August 2016 pronounced judgment on power tussle between Elected Government in Delhi and Central Government – LG.
8.  The letter dated 23.05.2016 of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting addressed to the Union Territories was withdrawn vide letter dated 09.08.2016 since the direction of the Supreme Court dated 28.04.2016 was not meant for Union Territories and accordingly, it was made clear that the advertisements of Union Territories shall be regulated by the three-member Committee constituted by the Central Government and that the Union Territories are not authorized to constitute three-member bodies of their own.
9. In Writ Petition (C) 6702/2015 (Ajay Maken vs UOI & thers), on August 10, 2016, a Division Bench of Delhi High Court did not consider necessary to enter into the issue as to whether Government of NCT of Delhi may constitute their own committee to regulate the contents of Government advertisements. The Court further held thus “having regard to the fact that a three-member committee has been constituted by the Government of India on 06.04.2016 in compliance with the directions of the Supreme Court and that the petitioner in W.P.(C) No.6702/2015 has already filed a complaint before the said Committee and it has also been represented by the learned counsel appearing for the Union of India that the said complaint would be considered in accordance with the Guidelines approved by the Supreme Court, we consider it appropriate to dispose of all the writ petitions with the following directions: (i)  The complaint dated 10.05.2016 of the petitioner in W.P.(C) No.6702/2015 shall be considered and decided by the three-member Committee constituted by the Government of India on 06.04.2016 in accordance with the Guidelines as expeditiously as possible, preferably within a period of six weeks from today. (ii) The petitioners in other writ petitions are at liberty to file complaints before the Committee in which event the same shall also be considered in terms of the Guidelines.
10. As reported in the Indian Express, Delhi Edition dt 17 September 2016, the said 3 member committee on 16 September 2016 has severely indicted on several counts the Elected Government in Delhi/Aam Aadmi Party and its leaders for gross violation of the said directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court. The 17 page conclusions of the committee have been sent to the LG of Delhi, Chief Secretary of Delhi, Registrar of Delhi High Court and Congress Leader Sh. Ajay Maken. The alleged violations related to outstation ads, misleading ads, ads for self-glorification, ads against media, ads mentioning AAP by name, ads about incidents in other states. The committee concluded that since the Delhi Government had allegedly violated the guidelines, “the only way it could be remedied is to make the political party, the main beneficiary in the process of violations, to pay for the expenditure incurred by the government”.  

NOTE:-

(A) The contents of the guidelines suggested by the court appointed Committee consisting of [Prof. (Dr.) N.R. Madhava Menon, former Director, National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, Mr. T.K. Viswanathan, former Secretary General, Lok Sabha and Mr. Ranjit Kumar, Senior Advocate]  may be usefully extracted hereinbelow:-

GUIDELINES ON CONTENT REGULATION OF GOVERNMENT ADVERTISING

(1) These Guidelines shall be called the Government Advertisement (Content Regulation) Guidelines 2014.

(2) They shall come into force with effect from......

2. APPLICATION:

(1) These Guidelines shall apply to all Government advertisements other than Classified Advertisements.

(2) These Guidelines shall apply to the content of all Government Advertising till a suitable legislation is enacted by the Government to prevent the misuse of public funds on advertisements to gain political mileage as distinct from legitimate Government messaging.

(3) These Guidelines shall apply to all –

(a) institutions of Government;

(b) public sector undertakings;

(c) local bodies and other autonomous bodies/organizations established under a Statute.

3. DEFINITIONS:

In these Guidelines unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) “Classified Advertisements” include public notices, tenders, recruitment notices, statutory

notifications.

(b) “DAVP Guidelines” means the existing guidelines of the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting dealing with the eligibility and

empanelment procedures and rates of payment and such other matters;

(c) “Government” means Central Government, State Governments/Union Territory Administrations and also includes local bodies, public sector undertakings and other autonomous

bodies/organisations established under a Statute.

(d) “Government advertising” means any message, conveyed and paid for by the government for

placement in media such as newspapers, television, radio, internet, cinema and such other, media but does not include classified advertisements; and includes both copy (written text/audio) and creatives (visuals/video/multi media) put out in print, electronic, outdoor or digital media.

OBJECTS:

The objects of these Guidelines are:-

(a) to prevent arbitrary use of public funds for advertising by public authorities to project particular personalities, parties or governments without any attendant public interest.

(b) neither to belittle the need nor to deny the authority of the Union and State Governments and its agencies to disseminate information necessary for public to know on the policies and programmes of Government but only to exclude the possibility of any misuse of public funds on

advertisement campaigns in order to gain political mileage by the political establishment;

(c) to address the gap in the existing DAVP Guidelines which only deal with the eligibility and empanelment of newspapers/journals or other media, their rates of payment, and such like matters and not on how to regulate the content of Government advertisements;

(d) to ensure that “all government activities satisfy the test of reasonableness and public interest, particularly while dealing with public funds and property”;

(e) to ensure that government messaging is well co-ordinate, effectively managed in the best democratic traditions and is responsive to the diverse information needs of the public.

5. GOVERNMENT ADVERTISEMENT TO INFORM CITIZENS

Subject to these Guidelines Government may place advertisements or purchase advertising space or time in any medium to inform citizens about their rights and responsibilities, about government policies, programmes, services or initiatives, orabout dangers or risks to public health, safety or the environment.

6. THE FIVE PRINCIPLES OF CONTENT REGULATION:

While placing advertisements or purchasing advertising space in any media, the Government

shall be guided by the following principles, namely:-

(1) Advertising Campaigns to be related to Government responsibilities:

While it is the duty of the Government to provide the public with timely, accurate, clear, objective and complete information about its policies, programmes, services and initiatives

since the public has a right to such information, the content of government advertisements should be relevant to the governments’ constitutional and legal obligations as well as the citizens’ rights and entitlements.

(2) Advertisement materials should be presented in an objective, fair and accessible manner and be designed to meet the objectives of the campaign:

(i) The material shall be presented in a fair and objective manner and shall be capable of fulfilling the intended objectives;

(ii) Government shall exercise due caution while deciding the content, layout, size

and design of the message including the target area and the creative requirement of the intended communication in order to ensure that the maximum reach and impact are achieved in the most cost effective manner;

(iii) Content of advertisement must enable the recipients of the information to distinguish between facts and analysis and where information is presented as a fact, it should be accurate and verifiable;

(iv) Pre-existing policies, products, services and initiatives should not be presented as new unless there has been a substantial change or modification of such policies, products or services;

(v) Content of advertisement should provide information in a manner that accommodates special needs of disadvantaged individuals or groups identified as being within the target audience;

(vi) Multiple formats may be used to ensure equal access;

(vii) Every effort shall be made to pre-test the material in case of large scale campaign with target audiences.

(3) Advertisement materials should be objective and not directed at promoting political interests of ruling party:

(i) Display material must be presented in objective language and be free of political argument or partisan standpoint:

 (ii) Government advertising shall maintain political neutrality and avoid glorification of political personalities and projecting a positive impression of the party in power or a negative impression of parties critical of the government.

(iii) Advertisement materials must not –

(a) Mention the party in government by name;

(b) directly attack the views or actions of others in opposition;

(c) include party political symbol or logo or flag;

(d) aim to influence public support for a political party, candidate for election; or

(e) refer to link to the websites of political parties or politicians.

(iv) Government advertisement materials should avoid photographs of political leaders and if it

is felt essential for effective Government messaging, only the photographs of the President/Prime Minster or Governor/Chief Minister should be used;

(v) Government advertisements shall not be used at patronizing media houses or aimed at receiving favourable reporting for the party or person in power.

(4) Advertisement Campaigns be justified and undertaken in an efficient and cost-effective manner:

(a) Since it is the responsibility of government to safeguard the trust and confidence in the

integrity and impartiality of public services and hence it should be the policy of governments to

use public funds in such a manner as to obtain maximum value for taxpayers’ money;

(b) Advertisement Campaigns must be justified and undertaken in an efficient and cost-effective manner;

(c) The Government shall –

(i) decide and announce beforehand, a list of personalities on whose birth or death anniversaries, advertisements could be released every year and specify which Ministry/Department could release the same;

(ii) avoid the issue of multiple advertisements by different departments and PSUs of the same Government in Commemorative Advertisements and shall issue a single advertisement only;

(d) Though advertising by governments should remain regulated all the time, it is particularly

important to scrupulously follow these principles before and during the elections. As far as possible, during the period prior to elections, only those advertisements required by law (such as public health and safety advisories or job and contract advertisements) alone be released by governments;

(e) Advertisement campaigns should only be need based; and

(f) In case of large volume advertisement campaigns, post-campaign impact assessment is necessary to be included in the planning process itself and shall identify the indicators to measure success when the campaign has ended.

 (5) Government advertising must comply with legal requirements and financial regulations and procedures:

Governments shall ensure that all Advertisements comply with:-

(i) relevant laws regarding privacy, intellectual property rights, election laws and consumer

protection laws apart from laws in respect of broadcasting and media; and

(ii) copyright laws and ownership rights associated with works subject to copyright are

fully respected.

COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT:

(1) The Government shall appoint an Ombudsman who shall be an eminent expert independent of the Government to receive complaints of violations of Guidelines and to recommend action in accordance with the Guidelines.

(2) Heads of government departments and agencies shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with these Guidelines and shall follow a procedure of certification of compliance before advertisements are released to the media.

(3) As part of the performance audit of the Ministry/Department/Agency –

(a) there shall be separate audit of the compliance of Advertisement Guidelines by the

Ministry/Department/Agency concerned; and

(b) The annual report of such ministry/department/agency shall publish the findings of such audit and the money spent on advertising.

 (4) The regulatory bodies of print and electronic media will be within their powers to impose sanctions against such media groups acting against these Guidelines in seeking or obtaining government advertisements.

8. GENERAL:

(1) These Guidelines shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the existing Guidelines

which are in place under the existing Advertisement Policy of Government.

(2) These Guidelines are equally applicable to State Governments and its agencies. The State

Governments shall undertake amendments to whatever policies they have in this regard and

observe the Guidelines strictly in letter and spirit.

(3) The Ombudsman may recommend suitable changes to the Guidelines to deal with new

circumstances and situations.

(4) The Government shall take necessary steps to initiate necessary legislation on the subject,

given its importance for democracy, human rights and good governance.”

(B) The Hon’ble Supreme Court approved and adopted the recommendations of the Committee in terms of its orders of 13 May 2015, 18 March 2016 and 28 April 2016  except with regard to:

 (a) appointment of an Ombudsman

(b) the recommendation with regard to performance audit by each Ministry.

(c) embargo on advertisements on the eve of the elections.