PIL asks Bombay High Court to retrain advertisements during polls

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL), filed in the Bombay High Court seeks directions to the Election Commission of India, to restrain any form of advertisement, be done 48-hours before elections. The medium includes social media sites, like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google, as it is prohibited on cable TV and other forms of advertisement platforms.

Advocate Sagar Suryawanshi filed the PIL stating that it was in the interest of the public.  Advocate Sagar Kursija appearing for the petitioner said, “We have sought directions from the court that section 126 of Representation of Peoples Act, should be applied on social media websites used by Indians as they advertise on their platforms for a price.”

The PIL also requested the HC to direct CEO of Facebook, Marck Zuckerberg to solemnly affirm on oath that FB will not be used wrongly during the forthcoming elections in India.  Section 126, prohibits any public meetings/campaigning during the period 48-hours, before polling begins. Any person who contravenes this provision is liable to a punishment of upto two years.