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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Kerala reels under heavy rains; IMD issues red alert in three districts
Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 26 (PTI): Heavy rains since Friday night have caused widespread damage across several parts of Kerala, raising water levels in rivers and dams and uprooting trees, which resulted in one death and injuries to several persons.
It also prompted the India Meteorological Department, on Saturday evening, to upgrade its rain alert status in Ernakulam, Idukki, and Thrissur districts from 'orange' to 'red'.
It also issued an 'orange alert' for Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts, and a 'yellow alert' for the remaining three.
A 'red alert' indicates "heavy to extremely heavy" rainfall of over 20 cm in 24 hours. An 'orange alert' denotes "very heavy" rainfall of 11 to 20 cm, while a 'yellow alert' signals "heavy rain" between 6 and 11 cm.
The IMD said rains are likely to persist over the next five days, accompanied by strong winds reaching speeds of 50-60 kmph till Sunday.
Fishing has been advised against along the Kerala-Karnataka-Lakshadweep coasts until July 30 due to rough seas and strong winds.
In Kozhikode, overnight rains and strong winds uprooted trees and caused extensive damage to houses and vehicles, prompting shifting of several families to safer places. However, no one was injured.
Power lines and electric poles were brought down, disrupting supply in many parts of the district.
Similar incidents were reported from Kottayam, Palakkad, and Kannur districts.
In Kannur, one person died when a tree fell on his house. In similar incidents in the district, few others were injured.
In Kottayam, besides the damage to homes due to uprooted trees, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) suffered a loss of Rs 2.43 crore due to several electric poles and power cables being brought down by the strong winds and rain in the district on Friday and Saturday.
In Kuttanad and Upper Kuttanad regions of Alappuzha district, the heavy rains resulted in inundation of several low-lying areas, including roads and homes, and rise in river waters to dangerous levels.
With water levels rising in their catchment areas, shutters of the Banasura Sagar dam in Wayanad, the Aliyar dam in Palakkad and Kakkayam Dam in Kozhikode district have been raised to release excess water.
Residents living downstream have been advised to stay vigilant.
The Irrigation Design and Research Board (IDRB) and Central Water Commission (CWC) have issued alerts for several rivers that have "risen dangerously", including the Manimala, Achankovil, and Pamba rivers in Pathanamthitta; Vamanapuram in Thiruvananthapuram; Pallikkal in Kollam, Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam and Thodupuzha in Idukki.
People residing along riverbanks have been urged to exercise caution and avoid entering or crossing the water bodies.
Meanwhile, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has warned of possible sea surges and high waves reaching 2.8 to 3.4 metres along the Kasaragod and Alappuzha coasts till 8.30 pm on Sunday.
Fishermen and coastal residents have been advised to remain alert, it added.
