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Synopsis

The Central government in Friday defended before the Delhi High Court its decision to install "selfie points" in public places to publicise its defence policy initiatives, asserting the "selfie system is a gift of technology," which helps familiarise the public about government schemes and policies in a cost-effective way.

The Centre rejected suggestions about there being any political motive behind the selfie points initiative and argued there was no mention of any political party or insignia at such programmes. The selfie booths, it said, only highlighted the achievements in the defence sector, like the inclusion and active participation of women in the armed forces and the Agnipath scheme.

The Center made the submissions before a bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan, which was hearing a PIL against the alleged use of public servants and defence personnel to spread "political propaganda" by showcasing the achievements of the government in the last nine years.

The petitioners alleged that several selfie points were being installed by the government with directions to soldiers to promote the work done by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), and public servants were being deployed as special officers for ''Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra'' to ''canvass'' for the ruling party in the upcoming elections in violation of service rules and the Representation of the People Act.

''Selfie Point is costing Rs 6 lakh, and they are installing it in all railway stations,'' the counsel, appearing for the petitioners, submitted. The exercise, he claimed, was being used to run the ruling party's political campaign with public money and was distorting the level playing field.

''It is a political campaign, and political speeches are being made on the platform. Each selfie point has a huge placard of the prime minister's photo,'' the counsel contended. 

The bench, also comprising Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, said that the measures being called into question did not refer to any political party, and they involved only propagating the government's schemes.

The bench said that the Prime Minister, who is elected by the people and maybe a political rival to someone, also holds a constitutional post.

''Government is run by someone in power, and it propagates the scheme. That's a hard fact of reality. A person is elected by the people. There is no denying the fact that he is holding a constitutional post. He may be someone's political rival also, but he is holding a post,'' Justice Manmohan said.

''There is no political insignia. He is only propagating the schemes of the government... (As per the government), 2.5 crore people attended the health camp, and around 10 lakh people were screened for TB. Twenty lakh people were screened for sickle cell anaemia (as part of the measures in question)...If officers and army men are doing this, then they are propagating a scheme,'' he said.

Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma told the bench that the government of India was committed to ensuring that the benefits of its flagship schemes reach the targeted beneficiaries in a time-bound manner, and the ''Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra'' aimed at ensuring ''last-mile'' outreach of all its welfare schemes.

Terming the PIL as ''motivated'', ASG Sharma objected to the petitioner raising the issue of the alleged expenditure of Rs 6 lakh in setting up each selfie booth at railway stations, asserting it was outside the ambit of the present proceedings.

ASG Sharma said that the selfie booths highlighting the achievements in the defence sector were installed to ''inspire and instill a sense of pride''. Various other schemes were being promoted during the Sankalp Yatra to attain ''full saturation'' in terms of reaching their benefits to the intended beneficiaries.

''This outreach has to be there. It can't be some office memorandum in New Delhi. Now that Agniveer and women's participation is there, the natural corollary is that you have to reach out to them and inspire them to join. In addition to eliciting the participation of people in a novel way, the selfie points are cost-effective. We are familiarizing the public with the government's schemes and policies. Engagement in selfie system is a gift of technology, and let's make use of it. The physical construct of selfie points enables people to engage effectively, thereby having a greater impact," the ASG submitted. 

The bench listed the matter for further hearing on January 30, 2024 and directed the Center to put its stand on record.

The plea aims to safeguard the civil services and armed forces from being utilized as tools of the ruling political party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), for electoral purposes. It contends that the government's practice of deploying public servants for political objectives violates various statutory rules and disrupts the principles of free and fair elections, thereby compromising a level playing field.

The plea raises two pivotal legal questions for consideration. Firstly, it questions whether, within the constitutional framework, a ruling political party possesses the authority to issue directives instructing government servants to celebrate government policies during its tenure in power. Secondly, the plea delves into whether such celebrations amount to the misuse of government machinery for election purposes.

According to the Public Interest Litigation (PIL), these celebrations allegedly contravene the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, All India Services (Conduct Rules), the Representation of the People Act, Army Rules, and specific government guidelines.

The plea, filed through Advocate Prashant Bhushan, contends that the actions of the government raise critical concerns about the separation of political and administrative functions. By urging the court to uphold the constitutional rights of citizens, particularly those enshrined in Articles 14 and 21, the plea seeks to establish safeguards against the instrumentalization of civil services and the armed forces for political gains.

Case Title: Eas Sarma & Anr. v. Union of India