Madras HC Reiterates: Only Gandhi and Thiruvalluvar Portraits Allowed in Courts

The Madras High Court’s full court, in line with its previous resolutions since October 2008, restated its stance on not allowing photos, statues, or portraits of any leader except Mahatma Gandhi and Saint Thiruvalluvar in courts and court premises in Tamil Nadu. Advocates’ associations’ requests to display the portrait of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar inside the courts were turned down by the court.

The Registrar General issued a circular on July 7, which mentioned that the full court unanimously reaffirmed its earlier decisions, stating that only portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and Saint Thiruvalluvar can be displayed inside the court premises. All other portraits and pictures are prohibited.

The circular also mentioned that previous resolutions had rejected applications to display Dr. Ambedkar’s portrait in court halls in the State. The court had resolved in March 2010 to prohibit the installation of statues of any political leader due to past incidents of damage to such statues, leading to law and order issues in the State. Furthermore, in April 2011, it was decided to disallow the display of any portraits in court halls.

The circular emphasized that district and principal district judges must strictly adhere to the full court’s orders and resolutions in all aspects. Any displays not in line with the court’s decision will be dealt with accordingly, as seen in cases where associations were ordered to remove Dr. Ambedkar’s photo from court buildings.