The Kerala High Court on Thursday asked the state government to clarify whether two public interest litigations challenging advertisements issued by the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government are maintainable. The court directed the state to file its response within 10 days.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V M sought the Kerala government’s stand on the maintainability of the petitions, both of which question advertisements allegedly promoting the current government while portraying the previous United Democratic Front (UDF) administration negatively.
According to a senior government lawyer, the bench asked the state to submit an affidavit within 10 days addressing whether the petitions can be entertained by the court.
One of the public interest litigations has been filed by Ernakulam District Congress Committee (DCC) president Muhammed Shiyas through advocate Anoop V Nair. The second petition has been filed by Sharon D Panakkal, a former member of the Ernakulam District Panchayat.
Both petitions contend that the advertisements were issued with an eye on the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections.
In his plea, Shiyas alleged that the advertisements constituted an “unconstitutional and colourable exercise of power by the state government.” He further argued that the campaign amounted to misuse of state machinery and public funds for partisan political gain.
“Public funds are a collective resource held in trust for the people, and their diversion for partisan political purposes undermines the constitutional guarantee of equality under Article 14 by disturbing the level playing field in the democratic process,” the petition states.
The petition also claims that the advertisements were “politically loaded publications” that attempted to depict Kerala under the previous UDF government as being in decline, while simultaneously glorifying the current administration and highlighting what it describes as curated achievements.
Panakkal’s petition raises similar allegations, questioning the use of government resources for advertisements that allegedly promote the ruling dispensation.
The High Court will consider the matter further after receiving the state government’s response on the maintainability of the petitions.
