Don't use name of any living personality in govt welfare schemes through ads: HC
_vb_75.jpeg)
Chennai (PTI): The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government that while launching and operating welfare schemes through various advertisements, the name of any living personality, photograph of any former Chief Minister/ideological leaders or party insignia/emblem/flag shall not be included.
The first bench comprising Chief Justice M M Shrivatsava and Justice Sunder Mohan passed the interim order on Thursday on a petition filed by AIADMK MP C.Ve.Shanmugam and advocate Iniyan.
In his petition, Shanmugam sought to restrain the state government from introducing/rebranding any scheme in the name of any living personality pending disposal of his Writ Petition.
He also sought a direction to the Election Commission of India and the Committee on Content Regulation in Government Advertising to take necessary action against the DMK under Paragraph 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 and consequently forbear the state government from using the name "Stalin" in relation to the activities of the scheme emanating from G.O. (Ms) No. 390, Public (Mudhalvarin Mugavari) Department, dated 19.06.2025 and thus render justice.
In its order, the bench made it clear that it has not passed any order against launching, implementation or operation of any welfare scheme of the government.
The bench said on prima facie considerations, it finds that the prayer for the interim relief has been made on the apprehension that the state is proceeding to launch many welfare schemes on the same line as the advertisement under challenge in this petition.
The bench said the Supreme court has issued successive directives from time to time regulating the content of government advertisements. In a clarificatory order passed in a review, the Supreme Court in the case of Karnataka Vs Common Cause and others permitted certain exceptions to the directive issued in the case of Common Cause Vs Union of India.
As per the said order, publication of the photograph of the incumbent Chief Minister was permissible. The use of photographs of ideological leaders or former Chief Minister, prima facie, would be against the directives of the Supreme Court, the bench added.
The bench said it would not be permissible to mention the name of the living political personality in the nomenclature of the government scheme. Moreover, using the name of any ruling political party, its insignia/logo/emblem/flag also appears to be prima facie against the directives of the Supreme Court and the Election Commission of India, the bench added.
The bench said pendency of this petition shall not come in the way of the Election Commission of India or the authorities in initiating any proceeding on the basis of the complaint made by the petitioner.
The bench posted to August 13, further hearing of the case.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Bank account in Ramgarh tracked for fraudulent fund transactions across 24 states, 4 arrested
Ramgarh (Jharkhand) (PTI): Jharkhand police on Thursday said it has unearthed a network of interstate cyber frauds and arrested four miscreants for fraudulent transactions through a bank account in Ramgarh district after complaints of 274 suspected transactions in 24 states.
The states where complaints for fraudulent transactions were registered included Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
The action followed inputs received through 'Samanvaya portal', a centralised, web-based platform launched by the Union Home Ministry to curb cybercrime.
"We arrested four cyber miscreants after a current account with Kuju (Ramgarh) branch of the State Bank of India was found to have registered suspected financial transactions in 24 states with the help of the Pratibimba portal of the Home Ministry through the Samanvaya portal," Ramgarh Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kumar Lunayat said.
During the probe, police found that the account was opened under the MSME Udyam Registration scheme in the name of Shree Ganesh Enterprises, he said.
The account had been linked to as many as 274 complaints from different states related to cyber fraud and illegal fund transfers.
The registered proprietors of the enterprise were identified as Rahul Gupta (37), Ravi Kumar Verma (34), and Ajay Sharma (33), all residents of Ramgarh district, a statement from the Ramgarh police said.
During interrogation, Rahul Gupta and Ravi Kumar Verma revealed that they had opened multiple current accounts at the behest of Ritesh Agrawal alias Munna (40) and Sonu Kumar Jha (34).
They admitted receiving Rs 1.2 lakh in exchange for facilitating the opening of these accounts.
"The accused further confessed to sharing OTPs, activating mobile banking services, and handing over control of the accounts to the main operators through WhatsApp and Telegram groups. These accounts were then allegedly used to route fraudulent transactions.
Police said mobile data analysis of the accused led to the recovery of crucial digital evidence, including details of SIM cards, bank accounts, passbooks, ATM cards, QR code scanners, Aadhaar cards, and PAN cards shared through messaging platforms.
A total of four accused have been arrested so far and sent to judicial custody.
A case has been registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 and Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Further investigation is underway, the police said.
