- (1.) Heard Mr. Ashok Pande, the petitioner who has appeared in person and learned counsel for the Union of India. Mr. Pande also happens to be an Advocate of this Court.
(2.) The prayer made in this writ petition filed as a public interest litigation is to issue a mandamus directing the Cabinet Secretary and Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (respondents no. 1 and 2) of the Government of India to prohibit all the departments and Public Sector Undertakings from publishing photographs of political leaders who are not holding any government office and that such prohibition should also cover photographs of Ms. Sonia Gandhi because she is holding no post in the Union of India but is actually the Chairperson of United Progressive Alliance, in various advertisements which are published by different departments from time to time in the Newspapers, Television or anywhere else. There is further prayer to direct the respondents no. 1 and 2 to recover part of the cost of advertisements issued with the photographs of Ms. Sonia Gandhi during last nine years, from her party, the Indian National Congress. The last prayer is to quash the order or letter dated 6.8.2013 of respondent no. 2 along with the note of Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP), respondent no. 3 dated 22.7.2013 on the ground that in the note dated 22.7.2013, there are materials to indicate that DAVP itself does not have any authority in the matter raised by the petitioner.
(3.) A similar writ petition was filed by the petitioner bearing Writ Petition (M/B) No. 4102 of 2013. That was also filed as a public interest litigation. As appears from the order dated 17.5.2013 contained in Annexure-3 to the writ petition, that writ petition was dismissed as premature because the petitioner had rushed to this Court immediately after raising his grievance through a representation dated 15.5.2013. However, this Court granted liberty to the petitioner that, if so advised, he may approach this Court after reasonable time, such as two-three months.;