CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Wednesday ordered an interim stay of a notice of Greater Chennai Corporation warning of action against presses if they print any banners without prior permission.
A bench of Justices M Sathyanarayanan and N Seshasayee while passing the interim order observed that printing banners is not an illegal act and asked whether weddings and other functions were not celebrated prior to the banner culture. Appearing for the petitioners, counsel BS Gnanadesikan assured that all rules will be adhered to including printing the name of the person who orders the banners.
The plea moved by Basheer Ahmed said “ We operate eight printing machines and each machine costs Rs 12 lakhs. If a machine is not operated for three days and kept idle, it would become dry and unusable. The repair cost is Rs 1.5 lakhs per machine which runs to Rs 12 lakhs for 8 printers”.
He had a valid licence to run his business till March 31, 2020. He had complied with all necessary statutory rules, petitioner submitted the corporation issued notice warning of action if any banner is printed without the approval of authorities. The punishment is imprisonment for one year or penalty of Rs 5000, the petitioner said. The bench adjourned the matter to October 23.