NEW DELHI: In an important decision, the Supreme Court has rejected an appeal and upheld the order of the Madras High Court directing political parties and other organisations to remove permanent flagpoles erected by them in public places, including national highways and government lands. A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi pronounced the order recently after hearing an appeal filed by Kathiravan challenging the HC’s judgment. The petitioner’s counsel challenged the direction and argued that the HC had passed a variety of directions, though the relief sought in the underlying case was limited. After hearing his submission, Justice Maheshwari asked, “How can you use government land for political benefits?” The court also stressed that the scope of High Court jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution is wide in nature, and dismissed the appeal. The root of the litigation is the order passed by Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on January 27, 2025, to remove flagpoles installed by political parties, communal organisations and others in public places within 12 weeks. “After removal of flagpoles, the authorities concerned are directed to recover the cost of removal of flagpoles from the respective political parties,” the judge had said.
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