Delhi High Court refuses to ban graphic anti-tobacco ads from movie screenings and TV programmes [Read Judgment]

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has dismissed a petition moved by a young lawyer seeking to ban "gross and distasteful" anti-tobacco advertisements played during heath spots in movie screenings and television programmes. 

The matter was decided by a bench of Justice Subromonium Prasad. The Court held that the "gross and graphic imagery, are in fact meant to be eye-openers for the people".

Referring to the trend of filing of petitions in court which are in the garb of public interest litigations but lobby private gains, the Court said that the petition was a "gross abuse of the process of law," and was motivated by the "tobacco industry lobby."

Elaborating on major health concerns that arise due to and are linked to smoking, the Court said that there is not only "compelling evidence linking smoking to cancers of the larynx, oral cavity, and esophagus, with the risk intensifying with increased exposure to cigarette smoke, whether active or passive," but also that "epidemiological research proves associations between smoking and cancers of the bladder, pancreas, stomach, and uterine cervix."

Pointing out that it was due to the multifarious ill-effects of smoking that the Government had brought in the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 to prohibit the advertisement of cigarettes and other tobacco products, to deter people from smoking.

Sections 4 and 31 of the said Act empower the government to make rules for the implementation of the Act and lay down the nature of statutory warnings to be placed on cigarette and other tobacco products' packs.

Expressing strong displeasure against the practice of pushing private gains through public interest litigations, the bench said that the present petition "has been backed by the tobacco industry lobby to prevent the Government from creating awareness against tobacco."

The Court cited the cases of BALCO Employees' Union (Regd.) vs Union of India and Tehseen Poonawalla versus Union of India in its reasoning and condemned the trending practice.

Finally, the Court said that though it was inclined to dismiss the petition with exemplary costs, it had restrained from doing so since the petition had been moved by a "young Advocate" having a bright future ahead.

It nevertheless strictly warned the Petitioner to not file such frivolous cases in future.

[Read Judgment]