Chief Justice directs State to file action taken affidavit

CHENNAI: The Chief Justice of the Madras High Court directed the State to file an affidavit regarding the actions taken to prevent the erection of hoardings, flex boards, and banners on public roads and pavements.

The first division of the Madras High Court (MHC) comprising Chief Justice S V Gangapurwala and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy heard the batch of cases against the illegal erection of hoardings and banners on public roads during political events, which led to various deaths in the State.

The government pleader P Muthukumar submitted that an affidavit would be filed by November 7 regarding the actions taken to prevent the erection of flex boards, hoardings, and banners on public roads and pavements.

Recording the submission the bench directed the State to strictly enforce the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies (permission for erection of digital banners and placards) rules, 2011 while granting permission to erect hoardings.

The batch of cases filed in the MHC including activist Traffic K R Ramaswamy (deceased) against the erring officials who have given permission to erect banners and hoardings on public roads.

Another petition was also filed against the illegal erection of DMK flagpole at Villupuram during an event in 2021, which led to the electrocution of a 13-year-old boy. The counsel for the petitioner claimed that the boy was electrocuted while erecting the flag poles during an event in which Minister K Ponmudy participated. Countering this submission, senior counsel R Viduthalai for the minister submitted that Ponmudy had not participated in the event.