Bengaluru hoarding menace: Karnataka High Court registers suo motu case

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Friday registered a suo motu PIL regarding the hoarding menace in Bengaluru.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice NV Anjaria and Justice KV Aravind issued show-cause notices to the BBMP chief commissioner and the city police commissioner for failing to implement orders from pending PILs.

The bench was hearing a batch of PILs concerning illegal hoardings and flexes in the city. During the hearing, the bench referred to a news item about an elderly man fighting for his life after a hoarding collapsed on him in Yelahanka.

"The news item depicts a very sorry state of affairs, particularly in light of various orders passed in the aforesaid PIL petitions, including the order dated January 18, 2024," the bench said.

"Despite the deterrent directions as above, it is evident that the authorities have not cared to comply with the court’s order. The pending orders, which are operative and the situation reported and reflected in the news item showing the continued activity of placing the hoarding, is a conduct contumacious on the part of the respondent authorities, especially the commissioner of the BBMP and the commissioner of the police,” the court said.

The court cited an order from August 2023, stating that if any unauthorised hoardings or flexes were reported after three weeks, the BBMP and the state government would jointly have to pay Rs 1 lakh in costs.

The bench further added, “In the facts and circumstances of the case, in addition to the notice in the present suo motu proceedings, the court is inclined to seek answers from these two authorities as to why they should not be booked for contempt of court. Therefore, the notice shall also include the BBMP commissioner and the city police commissioner, to explain why proceedings under the Contempt of Courts Act should not be initiated against them.”

Earlier, Additional Advocate General Prathima Honnapura informed the court that draft regulations regarding flexes and hoardings have been framed and approved by the state government. It is now up to the BBMP to notify the same after inviting objections, she said.