HC slams use of CM photos on school bags & stationery

‘MISUSE OF FUNDS’

HC slams use of CM photos on school bags & stationery

Sureshkumar.K@timesgroup.com

Chennai:08.09.2021

It is abhorring that school books or bags meant for children, who don’t have the right to vote, would carry photographs of public functionaries, even if the functionary is the chief minister, the Madras high court observed on Tuesday.

“Public funds cannot be misused for printing photographs for the personal interests of any politician. The state should ensure that such practice is not continued in future,” the court said. It also commended the present DMK government for its decision not to waste money on erasing pictures already printed by the previous AIADMK government.

“Thankfully, it is submitted by advocate-general that a statement has been made on the floor of the assembly recently to the effect that so as not to waste money already expended, the present dispensation will ensure that school bags, text books and stationery bearing the photographs or other signs of previous chief ministers will continue to be used till exhausted,” said the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P D Audikesavalu.

The bench made the observation on a PIL that sought a direction to the state government to continue dispensing unused stocks of textbooks, stationery and school bags that had photos of former chief ministers.

Recording the submissions of advocate-general R Shunmugasundaram, the judges said: “It is also submitted on behalf of the state that the chief minister does not desire his photographs to be published (on) such material in future.”

No further order need be made except one directing the state to take extreme care to ensure that public funds are not expended for publicity purposes of politicians, it added. “However, photographs of the chief minister may be carried, but that should be restricted to advertisements in newspapers or some hoardings and certainly not used on text books or exercise books or any educational material at all,” the bench said disposing of the plea.