CHENNAI: Justice S Vaidyanathan of the Madras High Court on Friday dismissed an application seeking to punish the authorities concerned under the Contempt of Court Act for their wilful disobedience of his earlier order, which among other things, banned depiction of living personalities in digital banners and hoardings.
According to activist ‘Traffic’ K R Ramaswamy, there was a violation of the order dated October 23 last year of the single judge.
The single judge said it was true that he had passed the order directing the authorities concerned to ensure that photographs of persons alive shall not be depicted in banners, flex boards, sign boards, etc. However, pursuant thereto, the First Bench led by Chief Justice Indira Banerjee, by a judgment dated December 20 last year on a writ appeal, set aside the order passed by him to the limited extent of depiction of photos in banners of persons who are alive.
The First Bench’s order stated that the order under appeal was set side to the limited extent that the single judge had directed the authorities concerned to ensure that if any permission was given for erecting banners, then photographs/pictures of living persons were not to be depicted.
“I am of the view that since the order dated October 23, 2017, passed by me got merged with the order dated December 20, 2017, passed by the First Bench of this court, on the principle of ‘doctrine of merger’, the present contempt petition cannot be entertained,” the judge said.
However, if the petitioner is aggrieved, it is open to him to put forth his grievance before the First Bench, the judge added.