HC seeks details of action by MCDs against hoardings

“You (MCDs) have to give complete details of advertisements taken down and those that are remaining. Of those taken down, give details of which were illegal and which were not, and if not, why they were taken down,” a Bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva said.

The court also refused to pass any interim order to stay the MCDs from taking down advertisements on Delhi metro pillars and stations.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) told the court that a single-judge Bench had stayed the MCDs from taking down advertisements on their pillars and stations, but they were still taking them down on the basis of a division Bench’s May 6 order.

On May 6, the high court’s division Bench had directed the MCDs to implement the 2007 Outdoor Advertising Policy (OAP) and ensure that all ads contrary to it are removed. DMRC said the advertisements being put up on its pillars or stations were not contrary to the OAP and added that it was also sharing the revenue with the corporations, despite which the ads were being taken down. It also sought orders to protect them from the action.

Meanwhile, an association representing outdoor advertising agencies in Delhi told the court the corporations were <g data-gr-id="26">misusing</g> the May 6 order to even take down ‘wall wraps’ which were permitted under the OAP.

The Bench, however, refused to pass any orders till it got a complete and the latest status report from the MCDs and listed the matter for further hearing on September 23. 

The court was hearing a PIL filed by Col (retd) Shivraj Kumar, an 83-year-old resident of the city, who has contended that advertisement hoardings, banners, <g data-gr-id="34">posters</g> and billboards, of any size, are being put up on residential buildings in violation of the policy and the 2009 Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property.

It was also hearing a plea filed by Mumbai-based Indian Outdoor Advertising Association (IOAA) and an application by Delhi Outdoor Advertising Association (DOAA), both of which have also sought implementation of the policy.