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Synopsis

The Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) for removal of unauthorized flagpoles on public roads and other public areas, as well as the prevention of any future installations.

The bench of Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy noted the petition was bereft of details of the erection of the alleged flag- poles.

"No such incident has been narrated in the writ petition," the bench pointed out. 

Further, the bench underscored that the contention of the petitioner was the present writ petition was filed to ensure that in the future flag-poles may not be erected.

To this, it held, "We cannot entertain the writ petition anticipating future contingencies. There are orders already passed by this Court with regard to erection of hoardings and flag-poles in W.P.No.17768 of 2016, dated 02.04.2019".

In light of the same, court opined that the present writ petition ought not to have been filed.

Through the present petition, the petitioner, B.R. Aravindakshan, had sought direction to the Home Secretary and Director General of Police and named several political parties, including the BJP, Congress, DMK, AIADMK, PMK, MDMK, and VCK, as respondents. Aravindakshan had argued that all political parties must adhere to the rule of law in conducting their political activities and promotions.

The petitioner had specifically cited the recent controversy surrounding the removal of an unauthorized flagpole outside the residence of BJP State President K. Annamalai, followed by his call to install 10,000 flagpoles across the State. The petitioner claimed that such actions may serve political purposes, but insisted that they must not violate the law.

Through an affidavit submitted through his counsel, Aravindakshan had highlighted the potential consequences if these actions are allowed to continue unchecked.

He had expressed concern about the widespread destruction of public property and the risk to public peace and social harmony in Tamil Nadu if such practices are not addressed. Furthermore, Aravindakshan noted that he had previously reached out to the Home Secretary and the Director General of Police on September 23 but received no public response from these authorities regarding the unauthorized flagpoles.

In light of these concerns, the petitioner had urged the court to issue a direction to the concerned officials to dismantle all existing unauthorized flagpoles installed by political parties, organizations, and individuals in public areas and to prevent the erection of any such flagpoles in the future.

Case Title: B.R.Aravindakshan v. The Chief Secretary, Govt of Tamil Nadu and Others