- (1.) Heard Sri Vijay Kumar Sharma, learned counsel for the petitioners and learned counsel for the respondents No.1 to 3.
(2.) Petitioner has approached this Court challenging the impugned advisory dated 8.01.2018 issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity wherein all newspapers which are on DAVP panel are required to fill up the details of readership profile of newspaper as per format uploaded in publishers' login area within stipulated time.
(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner contends that there is no such instruction in the Print Media Advertisement Policy, 2016 to call for details of readership profile and as such, the advisory is illegal. It is also submitted that there is no provision to call for readership profile under the provisions of Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867. Even if, as alleged by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 as well as Print Media Advertisement Policy, 2016 does not contain any provision to call for information about the readership profile of the newspapers, but neither the act nor the policy contains any bar on requiring or calling for such information. Further information is being collected for the purpose of releasing advertisement to newspapers journals. The data assumes great importance, inasmuch, it would enable the government to decide the issuance of advertisement to the newspapers keeping in view their coverage area and readership profile.;