NEW DELHI: Is the use of the word ?India? in the name of a private association or organisation illegal, unless used with prior sanction of the government?

This is the question that will come up for decision following two complaints filed against the use of ?India? in the name of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and in ?Team India?.

The complaints have been filed in Lucknow by social activists Amitabh and Nutan Thakur to the government under section 5 of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act 1950. Both these complaints have been sent to the competent authority, director (Internal Trade Division), Department of Consumer Affairs.

The first complaint is about use of the word India in BCCI and the second about using words "Team India" for BCCI?s cricket teams.

The complainants say section 3 of this Act prohibits use of certain emblems and names, including the word India, without permission from the competent authority. BCCI is a private society under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975 which always asserts its independence and vehemently denies any official control. Yet it repeatedly uses the word India which suggests the patronage and connection with the Government. Hence it should be punished under section 5 of the Act.

NEW DELHI: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court is to hear on 17 May a petition charging Press Council of India Chairman Justice Markandey Katju and Secretary Vibha Bhargava of contempt of court by observing that the Court?s directive to ensure the print and electronic media do not report about troop movements.

In response to a directive sent to it by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry for compliance of the High Court order, Justice Katju was reported to have said on 12 April that ?With great respect to the High Court, I am of the opinion that the order of the High Court is not correct.?

The Council has also filed a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court challenging the directive of the Allahabad High Court seeking to stop reporting of troop movements in the print and electronic media.

The order by Justice Uma Nath Singh and Justice V K Dixit of the High Court had come on 10 April following a public interest litigation by National RTI Forum Convener Dr Nutan Thakur praying to get an enquiry conducted about two news articles related with Army movement published on 4 April 2012.

The Judges had directed the Secretary in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and others to ensure that there was no reporting of any news item by the Print and Electronic Media relating to the movement of troops and the Ministry had sent a letter to that effect to the Council. The Ministry had also published the order on its website www.mib.nic.in

In her contempt petition, Thakur says the Press Council did not comply with the High Court order. This constitutes Contempt of Court.

She says if the Press Council of India was aggrieved by such an order, it had every right to file a Special Leave Petition but as an implementing authority, the Press Council Chairman did not have a legal authority to term it ?not correct? and to decide by himself that they would not comply with this High Court order.

"If every implementing authority starts behaving in the same manner, it would completely prejudice the judicial process," she said in the petition for initiating contempt proceeding against Justice Katju and Bhargava.

MUMBAI: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has directed the Centre to ensure that no law is violated when the Vidya Balan starrer Dirty Picture is telecast on Max channel on 22 April.

The directives were given by a division bench comprising Justices Umanath Singh and V K Dixit on a PIL filed by a lawyer Saurabh Shanker who had said that since Dirty Picture was an adult film, it should not be shown during the prime time. The court?s directive comes after it accepted the PIL.

Shanker had pleaded that he had no objection on the screening of the film, but it should not be made during the prime time. "The film can be telecast during the watershed hours between 2300 hrs and 0400 hrs," he said while citing the case of TV shows like ?Big Boss? and ?Sach Ka Samna?. He observed that telecast of adult film in the prime time was violation of the Cable TV Act.

Later, the Court disposed of the PIL after directing the Centre to ensure that no law is violated by screening the film.