The Madras High Court has issued notice to authorities, including the Chief Electoral Officer, Tamil Nadu, on a petition seeking a ban on erecting flagpoles of political parties permanently or temporarily in public places.
A division bench, comprising Justices N Kirubakarn and M V Muralidharan, before which a petition from social activist A Radhakrishnan came up Thursday, directed the authorities to submit their replies in four weeks.
The petitioner submitted that one of the guidelines of the State Election Commission was removal of flagpoles of all political parties already erected in public places.
The commission had earlier issued a direction to the police and revenue officials to remove the flagpoles and hoardings.
Alleging that most of the parties encroached upon roadsides, parks, playgrounds and common places without government permission, erected flagpoles permanently and hoisted the flags, the petitioner said they posed a hindrance to traffic.
Sometimes, they also caused sharp differences between different parties and lead to clashes that could be a law and order problem, he submitted
Moreover, erecting flagpoles temporarily during conferences and public meetings by using powered drills endangered underground telecom cables and electric cables.
Such indiscrimnate digging idamaged underground optical fibre cables of telecom companies, leaving thousands of phones dead, he said.
Stating that officials turn a blind eye to all that was happening for reasons best known to them, the petitioner submitted that these acts are punishable under Section 3 of Tamil Nadu Prevention of Public Property Damage and Loss Act.
A representation was made to the authorities in 2016 itself, but till date no action has been taken and hence he moved court, the petitioner said.
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