Government asked to spell out stand on official use of Jayalalithaa’s image

The first bench comprising acting Chief Justice Huluvadi G Ramesh and Justice R Mahadevan gave a direction to this effect on Monday after hearing two PILs, which sought to remove Jayalalithaa’s portraits and restrain the government from displaying them in offices and schemes, besides building memorials for her with public funds. 

The bench on remarking that portraits in private offices or political party offices could not be gone into, issued notice to the government and sought them to respond to all queries raised by DMK legislator J Anbazhagan and Advocates Forum for Social Justice, president, K Balu, in their PILs. Senior counsel P Wilson appearing on behalf of DMK, said Jayalaithaa was a convicted person and constitutionally debarred from occupying any public office. 

Noting that Jayalalithaa had not been sentenced to jail term only because she is not alive, he said merely because the appeals abated because of her death, the government is totally unjustified in displaying Jayalalithaa’s portrait in government offices and schemes. 

Balu contended that the apex court had not given a clean chit to Jayalalithaa, but, instead had found her guilty of offences such as conspiracy and corruption. He further submitted that despite his representation to the authorities on February 20 itself, the government had spent crores by placing advertisements on her birth anniversary on February 24.