Political ads not allowed on autos, govt tells HC

However, auto-rickshaw drivers, represented by Advocate Pranav Sachdeva, raised objections to the provisions of the policy. The policy states that approvals will not be granted if the advertisement contains “political, ethnic, religious or sectarian text.”

“You cannot ban political advertisements from being displayed. This is an attempt to stop people from making any political statements,” Sachdeva argued.

The court asked Sachdeva to file a fresh application to oppose the guidelines. “You can’t raise objections offhand.. file a fresh application,” the court said. The court also said that the stay order, issued by the court last year to restrain the government from taking action against vehicles that display advertisements, was still in effect. The court will next hear the case on August 22.

The new guidelines specify the system of approvals for advertisements and the areas where they can be displayed. Advertisements cannot be displayed without approval from municipal bodies and are allowed only for vehicles having GPS/GPRS systems. Apart from political advertisements, those on sale of alcohol or tobacco products or those that refer to violence, indecency, obscenity, cruelty to animals or promotion of any racist or sectarian behaviour have also been banned.

The rules also state that no reflective material, psychedelic or moving displays can be used for the advertisements. PSVs in Delhi include all public transport options from rickshaws, auto-rickshaws, taxis, school buses and buses run by contract or Delhi Transport Corporation.

The Sheila Dikshit government had in June last year courted controversy by banning advertisements on PSVs after auto-rickshaws had started sporting AAP posters in the run up to the Delhi elections. The auto unions had approached the HC alleging that the order was “discriminatory” since the Motor Vehicles Act allows government to only regulate and not prohibit advertisements on vehicles.