 "Madras High Court")
The Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the Tamil Nadu chief secretary to ensure that the provisions of a legislation on prevention of disfigurement are complied with to check unnecessary drawings on walls and ensure a clean atmosphere in all wards of the state.
Justice S Vaidyanathan was disposing of a plea by B Thirulochana Kumari of Arumbakkam here seeking a direction to the Chennai Corporation Commissioner to remove a party board, banner and flag put up in front of her house.
The judge recorded the submissions of the counsel for the corporation, including the commissioner, and the inspector of police of Arumbakkam station, that all the banners and party flags, if any, not removed, would be removed forthwith.
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They will ensure that no such act take place in future in residences of people in the city, the judge said.
"If any banner or party flag post are erected, it should be removed forthwith. Whoever objects to such removal of party flag/banner, etc., the name and address of such person shall be furnished to the police, so that the police shall register a case against such person," the judge said.
The petitioner submitted in April, that a person named Mathi erected a party flag in front of her property and when this was objected to, she was threatened with dire consequences.
According to the petitioner, it was removed later but another sign board was erected in the same place.
She alleged that the inspector declined to accept her representation to take action against Mathi and threatened that a case would be registered against her under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The judge in his order directed the chief secretary to maintain clean atmosphere in wards of town panchayats, among others, to check unnecessary drawings on walls of buildings/residential places.
The chief secretary shall also ensure that provisions of the Tamil Nadu Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act, 1959, amended from time to time, are complied with, the judge said.
"If at all any permission is given by the authority concerned for erecting banners, flex boards, sign-boards, etc., the authority concerned shall ensure that the photos/pictures of such persons who are alive, shall not be depicted by way of those banners, flex boards, sign-boards, etc," the judge said.
The judge further directed that the photos of persons, who are sponsoring the pictures, shall also not be depicted.
The chief secretary shall send a circular in this regard to all office bearers of the wards, the judge added.
