Every Police Commissionerate and district area will have to appoint a nodal police officer who will be in charge of enforcing the penal actions. District collectors will have to appoint the same and introduce the officers via various media outlets.
In a stinging ruling, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday held that illegal banners, posters, hoardings and skysigns violate citizens' fundamental rights and made it incumbent upon policemen and officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and municipal councils to remove them in case of a complaint.
A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Amjad Sayed said, "All the authorities concerned are under an obligation to remove the illegal skysigns and advertisements as soon as the information regarding their display is received. Failure to do so will be in violation of the fundamental rights of the citizens under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, apart from in violation of municipal laws and the Defacement Act."
The bench also noted that most such defacement is committed by political parties and their workers who put up hoardings or banners throughout the year.
"It is high time to stop political parties, especially their leaders and workers, from taking up arm twisting tactics and taking recourse to pressurising the corporation and police officers who oppose," the bench said.
The bench also asked the Mumbai Police Commissioner to provide two armed policemen on a daily basis in each ward to assist civic staff in removing illegal signages. Police commissioners and superintendents of police have been told to issue directions within a period of six weeks to police staff who are on night patrol to keep a constant vigil to prevent such activity. If perpetrators are found, the policemen should immediately lodge complaints against the offenders, the court said.
The bench said legal framework and provisions have remained only on paper, and no law enforcement agency has effectively discharged its duty, presumably because of the involvement of the political leaders or political parties. It has now asked the police to register a case under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) on receiving a complaint. The municipal officers shall also be obligated to furnish information regarding offences that are punishable under various Acts.
Every Police Commissionerate and district area will have to appoint a nodal police officer who will be in charge of enforcing the penal actions. District collectors will have to appoint the same and introduce the officers via various media outlets.
A redressal grievance mechanism in the form of a helpline and the facility to receive complaints on SMS or WhatsApp messenger service will have to be initiated within one month by each municipal corporation, council and district. The facility to upload pictures online should also be available, and regular monitoring of the same should be done by senior officials.
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