Associations promoting sports can use ‘Kerala’ prefix in their names: HC
KOCHI: Kerala High Court has held that an association of private citizens formed with the objective of promoting any sports/games cannot be prevented from using ‘Kerala’ or ‘Bharat’ or ‘India’ under the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 in its name. The Act banned only the naming of commercial entities after India, Bharat or Kerala.
Naming a person, institution or entity is the prerogative of the citizen. It is a matter of the identity of the citizen or of an entity created by him. It is an inalienable right of the citizen. A democratic state cannot prevent its citizens from using with pride the names of their country or state and that too when the names were in existence and used without any restrictions even before the enactment of the Constitution itself, held the court.
Justice N Nagaresh made the observations while allowing a petition filed by the Kerala Deaf Cricket Association against the refusal by the Registration department to register the association because of prefixing Kerala before the association’s name. The department took the stand that no society with the word “Kerala” could be registered in view of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act of 1950.
Besides, there was no provision to name a non-governmental organisation with the name of any state or nation as the same might be misunderstood or interpreted as a governmental organisation. The court pointed out that the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950, was enacted to prevent the improper use of certain emblems and names for professional and commercial purposes.