Three-member committee to monitor content of govt ads
The SC had in its May 13, 2015 order laid down criteria as per which government advertisements can only carry pictures of certain dignitaries like the President, PM and the Chief Justice of India.
The Centre has formed a three-member committee, headed by former Chief Election Commissioner B B Tandon, to check violations of the Supreme Court guidelines with regard to content in government advertising.
Apart from Tandon, the other two members of the committee are Editor-in-Chief of India TV Rajat Sharma and Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman South Asia, Ogilvy and Mather, an official statement said on Monday. The Committee would also recommend corrective action to the Ministry or Department.
The Information and Broadcasting ministry, in the statement, said in compliance with Supreme Court directions dated May 13, 2015, it has constituted the committee to address issues related to content regulation in government advertising.
The Supreme Court had in its May 13, 2015 order laid down criteria as per which government advertisements can only carry pictures of certain dignitaries like the President, Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India. Subsequently, modifying its earlier order, the apex court allowed that Union Ministers, Chief Ministers, Governors and State Ministers can now appear in government advertisements.
Tenure of the members would be initially for a period of two years which shall be extendable by one year at a time, but overall extension should not be more than two times. The committee would be operational from Delhi and Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity would facilitate day-to-day its functioning, it added.
The names were chosen by a selection panel headed by Chairman of Press Council of India Justice (Retd) Chandramauli Kumar Prasad.
As per the Terms of Reference, the Committee would, inter-alia, address complaints from the general public of violation of the guidelines set out by the Supreme Court, the statement said.
The Committee may recommend suitable changes to the Supreme Court guidelines to deal with new circumstances and situations that may arise from time-to-time, without making major policy changes within the policy direction of Supreme Court, the statement said.
The Committee shall not be bound by any legal rules of evidence and may follow such procedure as appears to it to be fair and proper for swift settlement of grievances. For all decisions of the Committee, the view of majority would prevail, the statement said.