Calcutta high court restrains BJP from publishing derogatory ads against TMC

KOLKATA: The Calcutta high court issued an injunction on Monday (May 20), restraining the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) from publishing any derogatory advertisements against the Trinamool Congress (TMC) until further notice.

Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, a single-judge, also criticized the Election Commission of India (ECI) for its failure to address complaints filed by the TMC regarding BJP's advertisements targeting the ruling party in West Bengal.

“The ECI has grossly failed to address the complaints of the TMC in a timely manner. This Court is surprised by the resolution of the complaints after the conclusion of elections. Due to the ECI's failure, this court is constrained to pass an injunction order,” Justice Bhattacharya stated in the order.

The court clarified that the petition aimed not only to restrain media houses but primarily to prevent the BJP from publishing ads that violate the political rights of the TMC and its members.

The Court observed that BJP's ads during the “silence period” before the polls were in violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and infringed upon the rights of the TMC and citizens to free and fair elections.

“The impugned ads published this month clearly violate the MCC, which prohibits criticism of other parties or their workers based on unverified allegations or distortion,” the court remarked.

The court deemed the ads as containing derogatory personal attacks and consequently restrained BJP from publishing such ads further.

“The allegations and publications against TMC are outright derogatory and intended to insult the rivals. Hence, BJP is restrained from further publishing such ads until further orders,” the Calcutta high court ordered.

The court emphasized that media outlets should refrain from publishing unverified information against any candidate or political party during elections, in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Press Council of India (PCI).

The court's decision came in response to a petition filed by the TMC, seeking an injunction against BJP for several ads published in newspapers against the Mamata Banerjee-led party.

The ECI argued that it does not have the authority to issue injunction orders or prohibit political parties found violating the MCC.

However, the court noted that the scope of the petition extends to protecting TMC's rights under Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution, ensuring free and fair elections and safeguarding political freedoms.