NEW DELHI: The government has sought the views of the general public following a Supreme Court verdict that an Advertisement Code needs to be drawn up to differentiate between advertisements about government messaging and those that are politically motivated and designed to patronise media organization and get favourable media coverage.

In its verdict on 23 April, the apex court set up a three-member committee for this purpose, to be coordinated by Information and Broadcasting Ministry secretary Bimal Julka, which held its first meeting on 5 May. The Committee has been asked to submit its report within three months, and so various stakeholders have been asked to submit their views within four weeks.     

The Court wanted substantive guidelines to be laid down until the legislature enacts a law in this regard.

The Court felt that the Advertising Code of the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity did not draw this distinction.

The petitions had been filed by Common Cause and the Centre for Public Interest Litigation.