Commercial exploitation: Bombay HC notices to Centre, 4 states for 'illegal' use of woman's pic
Mumbai, Mar 17 (PTI): The Bombay High Court has termed the use of a woman's image without her consent in government advertisements as "commercial exploitation" and "quite serious" considering the contemporary electronic era and social media.
Taking note of a petition filed by Namrata Ankush Kawale, a division bench of Justices G S Kulkarni and Advait Sethna issued notices to the Central government, four state governments, Congress Party and a US-based company and posted the matter on March 24.
In her petition, Kawale alleged that her image was clicked by a local photographer, Tukaram Karve, an acquaintance, and illegally uploaded to the website Shutterstock.
Subsequently, the photo was used unlawfully by four state governments and the Union Ministry of Rural Development, as well as some private companies, in advertisements and public displays.
The High Court addressed the seriousness of the matter in its order on March 10, saying that the issues raised in Kawale's plea were pertinent to the current electronic and social media landscape.
"The issues raised in the plea were quite serious, considering the contemporary times of an electronic era and social media. Prima facie, it appears to be a commercial exploitation of the petitioner's photograph," the HC said.
This is alleged to have happened completely without the woman even being informed about the same, it added.
The bench issued a notice to Shutterstock, a US-based company that hosts a website with royalty-free stock photographs, and various state governments, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Odisha.
The notice was also issued to the Telangana Congress, the Union Ministry of Rural Development, and a private entity, Total Dental Care Pvt Ltd, which had used the petitioner's photograph.
It sought affidavits from all the respondents.
The high court said the present case brings to the fore a serious issue about the unauthorised use of woman's photograph by various political parties and state governments in advertising their schemes.
The woman in her plea termed as extremely alarming such a breach of her privacy and illegality which ought not to have taken place from responsible governments who are supposed to adhere to the law.
As per the woman, one Tukaram Karve, a photographer from her village, had taken her picture and uploaded it without her consent on the Shutterstock website.
The governments of Maharashtra, Telangana, Odisha and Karnataka, the Union Ministry of Rural Development and some private entities have used her photograph from the website without her consent for their advertisements and hoardings, she claimed.
The woman further said that the government's illegal use of her photograph was a breach of her fundamental rights.
She sought a direction to the respondents to be permanently restrained from using her photograph on their websites, social media platforms, advertisements and promotions.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
