Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
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Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

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    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f1f3d7bb818-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f1f3d7bb818-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67f1f3d7bb818-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f1f3d7bb818-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f1f3d7bb818-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f1f3d7bb818-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f1f3d7bb818-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67f1f3d7bb818-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
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-The Hindu
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
 Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India&#039;s leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Section 126 of the Representation of People Act (1950) prohibits political parties from taking out television ads from 48 hours before an election. It does not, however, explicitly mention the print media. The relevant portions of the Act are as follows:
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;quot;Section 126. Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll:
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll. (1) No person shall-
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&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
(a) Convene, hold, attend, or address any public meeting or procession in connection with an election; or
&lt;/p&gt;
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(b) Display to the public any election matter by means of cinematograph, television or other similar apparatus-, or
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
(c) Propagate any election matter to the public by holding or by arranging the holding of, any musical concert or any theatrical performance or any other entertainment or amusement with a view to attracting the members of the public thereto, in any polling area during the period of forty-eight hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll for any election in that polling area.&amp;quot;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
As you can see, print media is not specifically mentioned. Section 126 (A) which deals with the broadcast of exit polls, on the other hand, explicitly mentions that this applies to the print media too.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The Election Commission is aware that this implicit exemption for print does not fit in with the spirit of the law, which is meant to give voters a 48-hour period of silence, free from campaigning. &amp;quot;We don&#039;t really know how this crept in; nobody seemed to have any institutional memory of how print got left out,&amp;quot; Dr. S Y Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner, said. Sources in the EC told The Hindu on Saturday that since there had been no legal challenge, the exemption for print continued. &amp;quot;All it needs is for Parliament to amend the law,&amp;quot; an Election Commission official explained.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
It seems evident why the two biggest national parties have never moved to close this loophole while in power. While it is the BJP that carpeted Delhi with front-page ads on Saturday, as it did on April 10, the Congress has done the same in the past. A look at the archives of major English newspapers for May 7, 2009, shows that both the Congress and the BJP took out ads.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
In a week from now, a Law Commission report on electoral reform is expected, which is expected to tackle this issue. But governments do not always take the Commission&#039;s recommendations on board, and past representations to the Ministry of Law and Justice from various committees and NGOs like the Association for Democratic Reforms on this specific loophole have gone unheeded. 
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-The Hindu


 Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India&#039;s leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.


Section 126 of the...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Hindu&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt; Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India&#039;s leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Section 126 of the Representation of People Act (1950) prohibits political parties from taking out television ads from 48 hours before an election. It does not, however, explicitly mention the print media. The relevant portions of the Act are as follows:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;Section 126. Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll. (1) No person shall-&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;(a) Convene, hold, attend, or address any public meeting or procession in connection with an election; or&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;(b) Display to the public any election matter by means of cinematograph, television or other similar apparatus-, or&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;(c) Propagate any election matter to the public by holding or by arranging the holding of, any musical concert or any theatrical performance or any other entertainment or amusement with a view to attracting the members of the public thereto, in any polling area during the period of forty-eight hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll for any election in that polling area.&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;As you can see, print media is not specifically mentioned. Section 126 (A) which deals with the broadcast of exit polls, on the other hand, explicitly mentions that this applies to the print media too.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The Election Commission is aware that this implicit exemption for print does not fit in with the spirit of the law, which is meant to give voters a 48-hour period of silence, free from campaigning. &amp;quot;We don&#039;t really know how this crept in; nobody seemed to have any institutional memory of how print got left out,&amp;quot; Dr. S Y Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner, said. Sources in the EC told The Hindu on Saturday that since there had been no legal challenge, the exemption for print continued. &amp;quot;All it needs is for Parliament to amend the law,&amp;quot; an Election Commission official explained.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;It seems evident why the two biggest national parties have never moved to close this loophole while in power. While it is the BJP that carpeted Delhi with front-page ads on Saturday, as it did on April 10, the Congress has done the same in the past. A look at the archives of major English newspapers for May 7, 2009, shows that both the Congress and the BJP took out ads.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;In a week from now, a Law Commission report on electoral reform is expected, which is expected to tackle this issue. But governments do not always take the Commission&#039;s recommendations on board, and past representations to the Ministry of Law and Justice from various committees and NGOs like the Association for Democratic Reforms on this specific loophole have gone unheeded. &lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
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 Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India&#039;s leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Section 126 of the Representation of People Act (1950) prohibits political parties from taking out television ads from 48 hours before an election. It does not, however, explicitly mention the print media. The relevant portions of the Act are as follows:
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;quot;Section 126. Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll:
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll. (1) No person shall-
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(a) Convene, hold, attend, or address any public meeting or procession in connection with an election; or
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(c) Propagate any election matter to the public by holding or by arranging the holding of, any musical concert or any theatrical performance or any other entertainment or amusement with a view to attracting the members of the public thereto, in any polling area during the period of forty-eight hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll for any election in that polling area.&amp;quot;
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As you can see, print media is not specifically mentioned. Section 126 (A) which deals with the broadcast of exit polls, on the other hand, explicitly mentions that this applies to the print media too.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
The Election Commission is aware that this implicit exemption for print does not fit in with the spirit of the law, which is meant to give voters a 48-hour period of silence, free from campaigning. &amp;quot;We don&#039;t really know how this crept in; nobody seemed to have any institutional memory of how print got left out,&amp;quot; Dr. S Y Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner, said. Sources in the EC told The Hindu on Saturday that since there had been no legal challenge, the exemption for print continued. &amp;quot;All it needs is for Parliament to amend the law,&amp;quot; an Election Commission official explained.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
It seems evident why the two biggest national parties have never moved to close this loophole while in power. While it is the BJP that carpeted Delhi with front-page ads on Saturday, as it did on April 10, the Congress has done the same in the past. A look at the archives of major English newspapers for May 7, 2009, shows that both the Congress and the BJP took out ads.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
In a week from now, a Law Commission report on electoral reform is expected, which is expected to tackle this issue. But governments do not always take the Commission&#039;s recommendations on board, and past representations to the Ministry of Law and Justice from various committees and NGOs like the Association for Democratic Reforms on this specific loophole have gone unheeded. 
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-The Hindu


 Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India&#039;s leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.


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-The Hindu


 Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India's leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.


Section 126 of the..."/>
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                <strong>Political ads exist in legal grey area -Rukmini S</strong></h1>
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                <div align="justify">-The Hindu</div><p align="justify"> Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India's leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.</p><p align="justify">Section 126 of the Representation of People Act (1950) prohibits political parties from taking out television ads from 48 hours before an election. It does not, however, explicitly mention the print media. The relevant portions of the Act are as follows:</p><p align="justify">&quot;Section 126. Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll:</p><p align="justify">Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll. (1) No person shall-</p><p align="justify">(a) Convene, hold, attend, or address any public meeting or procession in connection with an election; or</p><p align="justify">(b) Display to the public any election matter by means of cinematograph, television or other similar apparatus-, or</p><p align="justify">(c) Propagate any election matter to the public by holding or by arranging the holding of, any musical concert or any theatrical performance or any other entertainment or amusement with a view to attracting the members of the public thereto, in any polling area during the period of forty-eight hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll for any election in that polling area.&quot;</p><p align="justify">As you can see, print media is not specifically mentioned. Section 126 (A) which deals with the broadcast of exit polls, on the other hand, explicitly mentions that this applies to the print media too.</p><p align="justify">The Election Commission is aware that this implicit exemption for print does not fit in with the spirit of the law, which is meant to give voters a 48-hour period of silence, free from campaigning. &quot;We don't really know how this crept in; nobody seemed to have any institutional memory of how print got left out,&quot; Dr. S Y Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner, said. Sources in the EC told The Hindu on Saturday that since there had been no legal challenge, the exemption for print continued. &quot;All it needs is for Parliament to amend the law,&quot; an Election Commission official explained.</p><p align="justify">It seems evident why the two biggest national parties have never moved to close this loophole while in power. While it is the BJP that carpeted Delhi with front-page ads on Saturday, as it did on April 10, the Congress has done the same in the past. A look at the archives of major English newspapers for May 7, 2009, shows that both the Congress and the BJP took out ads.</p><p align="justify">In a week from now, a Law Commission report on electoral reform is expected, which is expected to tackle this issue. But governments do not always take the Commission's recommendations on board, and past representations to the Ministry of Law and Justice from various committees and NGOs like the Association for Democratic Reforms on this specific loophole have gone unheeded. </p>               </font>
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-The Hindu
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 Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India&#039;s leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Section 126 of the Representation of People Act (1950) prohibits political parties from taking out television ads from 48 hours before an election. It does not, however, explicitly mention the print media. The relevant portions of the Act are as follows:
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;quot;Section 126. Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll:
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Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll. (1) No person shall-
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(c) Propagate any election matter to the public by holding or by arranging the holding of, any musical concert or any theatrical performance or any other entertainment or amusement with a view to attracting the members of the public thereto, in any polling area during the period of forty-eight hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll for any election in that polling area.&amp;quot;
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As you can see, print media is not specifically mentioned. Section 126 (A) which deals with the broadcast of exit polls, on the other hand, explicitly mentions that this applies to the print media too.
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The Election Commission is aware that this implicit exemption for print does not fit in with the spirit of the law, which is meant to give voters a 48-hour period of silence, free from campaigning. &amp;quot;We don&#039;t really know how this crept in; nobody seemed to have any institutional memory of how print got left out,&amp;quot; Dr. S Y Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner, said. Sources in the EC told The Hindu on Saturday that since there had been no legal challenge, the exemption for print continued. &amp;quot;All it needs is for Parliament to amend the law,&amp;quot; an Election Commission official explained.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
It seems evident why the two biggest national parties have never moved to close this loophole while in power. While it is the BJP that carpeted Delhi with front-page ads on Saturday, as it did on April 10, the Congress has done the same in the past. A look at the archives of major English newspapers for May 7, 2009, shows that both the Congress and the BJP took out ads.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
In a week from now, a Law Commission report on electoral reform is expected, which is expected to tackle this issue. But governments do not always take the Commission&#039;s recommendations on board, and past representations to the Ministry of Law and Justice from various committees and NGOs like the Association for Democratic Reforms on this specific loophole have gone unheeded. 
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	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Hindu&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt; Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India&#039;s leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Section 126 of the Representation of People Act (1950) prohibits political parties from taking out television ads from 48 hours before an election. It does not, however, explicitly mention the print media. The relevant portions of the Act are as follows:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;Section 126. Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll. (1) No person shall-&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;(a) Convene, hold, attend, or address any public meeting or procession in connection with an election; or&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;(b) Display to the public any election matter by means of cinematograph, television or other similar apparatus-, or&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;(c) Propagate any election matter to the public by holding or by arranging the holding of, any musical concert or any theatrical performance or any other entertainment or amusement with a view to attracting the members of the public thereto, in any polling area during the period of forty-eight hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll for any election in that polling area.&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;As you can see, print media is not specifically mentioned. Section 126 (A) which deals with the broadcast of exit polls, on the other hand, explicitly mentions that this applies to the print media too.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The Election Commission is aware that this implicit exemption for print does not fit in with the spirit of the law, which is meant to give voters a 48-hour period of silence, free from campaigning. &amp;quot;We don&#039;t really know how this crept in; nobody seemed to have any institutional memory of how print got left out,&amp;quot; Dr. S Y Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner, said. Sources in the EC told The Hindu on Saturday that since there had been no legal challenge, the exemption for print continued. &amp;quot;All it needs is for Parliament to amend the law,&amp;quot; an Election Commission official explained.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;It seems evident why the two biggest national parties have never moved to close this loophole while in power. While it is the BJP that carpeted Delhi with front-page ads on Saturday, as it did on April 10, the Congress has done the same in the past. A look at the archives of major English newspapers for May 7, 2009, shows that both the Congress and the BJP took out ads.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;In a week from now, a Law Commission report on electoral reform is expected, which is expected to tackle this issue. But governments do not always take the Commission&#039;s recommendations on board, and past representations to the Ministry of Law and Justice from various committees and NGOs like the Association for Democratic Reforms on this specific loophole have gone unheeded. &lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
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 Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India&#039;s leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.
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Section 126 of the Representation of People Act (1950) prohibits political parties from taking out television ads from 48 hours before an election. It does not, however, explicitly mention the print media. The relevant portions of the Act are as follows:
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&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;quot;Section 126. Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll:
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Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll. (1) No person shall-
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As you can see, print media is not specifically mentioned. Section 126 (A) which deals with the broadcast of exit polls, on the other hand, explicitly mentions that this applies to the print media too.
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The Election Commission is aware that this implicit exemption for print does not fit in with the spirit of the law, which is meant to give voters a 48-hour period of silence, free from campaigning. &amp;quot;We don&#039;t really know how this crept in; nobody seemed to have any institutional memory of how print got left out,&amp;quot; Dr. S Y Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner, said. Sources in the EC told The Hindu on Saturday that since there had been no legal challenge, the exemption for print continued. &amp;quot;All it needs is for Parliament to amend the law,&amp;quot; an Election Commission official explained.
&lt;/p&gt;
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It seems evident why the two biggest national parties have never moved to close this loophole while in power. While it is the BJP that carpeted Delhi with front-page ads on Saturday, as it did on April 10, the Congress has done the same in the past. A look at the archives of major English newspapers for May 7, 2009, shows that both the Congress and the BJP took out ads.
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 Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India&#039;s leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.


Section 126 of the...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Hindu&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt; Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India&#039;s leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Section 126 of the Representation of People Act (1950) prohibits political parties from taking out television ads from 48 hours before an election. It does not, however, explicitly mention the print media. The relevant portions of the Act are as follows:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;Section 126. Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll. (1) No person shall-&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;(a) Convene, hold, attend, or address any public meeting or procession in connection with an election; or&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;(b) Display to the public any election matter by means of cinematograph, television or other similar apparatus-, or&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;(c) Propagate any election matter to the public by holding or by arranging the holding of, any musical concert or any theatrical performance or any other entertainment or amusement with a view to attracting the members of the public thereto, in any polling area during the period of forty-eight hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll for any election in that polling area.&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;As you can see, print media is not specifically mentioned. Section 126 (A) which deals with the broadcast of exit polls, on the other hand, explicitly mentions that this applies to the print media too.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The Election Commission is aware that this implicit exemption for print does not fit in with the spirit of the law, which is meant to give voters a 48-hour period of silence, free from campaigning. &amp;quot;We don&#039;t really know how this crept in; nobody seemed to have any institutional memory of how print got left out,&amp;quot; Dr. S Y Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner, said. Sources in the EC told The Hindu on Saturday that since there had been no legal challenge, the exemption for print continued. &amp;quot;All it needs is for Parliament to amend the law,&amp;quot; an Election Commission official explained.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;It seems evident why the two biggest national parties have never moved to close this loophole while in power. While it is the BJP that carpeted Delhi with front-page ads on Saturday, as it did on April 10, the Congress has done the same in the past. A look at the archives of major English newspapers for May 7, 2009, shows that both the Congress and the BJP took out ads.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;In a week from now, a Law Commission report on electoral reform is expected, which is expected to tackle this issue. But governments do not always take the Commission&#039;s recommendations on board, and past representations to the Ministry of Law and Justice from various committees and NGOs like the Association for Democratic Reforms on this specific loophole have gone unheeded. &lt;/p&gt;&#039;
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-The Hindu


 Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India's leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.


Section 126 of the..."/>
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                <strong>Political ads exist in legal grey area -Rukmini S</strong></h1>
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                <div align="justify">-The Hindu</div><p align="justify"> Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India's leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.</p><p align="justify">Section 126 of the Representation of People Act (1950) prohibits political parties from taking out television ads from 48 hours before an election. It does not, however, explicitly mention the print media. The relevant portions of the Act are as follows:</p><p align="justify">&quot;Section 126. Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll:</p><p align="justify">Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll. (1) No person shall-</p><p align="justify">(a) Convene, hold, attend, or address any public meeting or procession in connection with an election; or</p><p align="justify">(b) Display to the public any election matter by means of cinematograph, television or other similar apparatus-, or</p><p align="justify">(c) Propagate any election matter to the public by holding or by arranging the holding of, any musical concert or any theatrical performance or any other entertainment or amusement with a view to attracting the members of the public thereto, in any polling area during the period of forty-eight hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll for any election in that polling area.&quot;</p><p align="justify">As you can see, print media is not specifically mentioned. Section 126 (A) which deals with the broadcast of exit polls, on the other hand, explicitly mentions that this applies to the print media too.</p><p align="justify">The Election Commission is aware that this implicit exemption for print does not fit in with the spirit of the law, which is meant to give voters a 48-hour period of silence, free from campaigning. &quot;We don't really know how this crept in; nobody seemed to have any institutional memory of how print got left out,&quot; Dr. S Y Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner, said. Sources in the EC told The Hindu on Saturday that since there had been no legal challenge, the exemption for print continued. &quot;All it needs is for Parliament to amend the law,&quot; an Election Commission official explained.</p><p align="justify">It seems evident why the two biggest national parties have never moved to close this loophole while in power. While it is the BJP that carpeted Delhi with front-page ads on Saturday, as it did on April 10, the Congress has done the same in the past. A look at the archives of major English newspapers for May 7, 2009, shows that both the Congress and the BJP took out ads.</p><p align="justify">In a week from now, a Law Commission report on electoral reform is expected, which is expected to tackle this issue. But governments do not always take the Commission's recommendations on board, and past representations to the Ministry of Law and Justice from various committees and NGOs like the Association for Democratic Reforms on this specific loophole have gone unheeded. </p>               </font>
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-The Hindu
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 Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India&#039;s leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.
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&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Section 126 of the Representation of People Act (1950) prohibits political parties from taking out television ads from 48 hours before an election. It does not, however, explicitly mention the print media. The relevant portions of the Act are as follows:
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&amp;quot;Section 126. Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll:
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Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll. (1) No person shall-
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(c) Propagate any election matter to the public by holding or by arranging the holding of, any musical concert or any theatrical performance or any other entertainment or amusement with a view to attracting the members of the public thereto, in any polling area during the period of forty-eight hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll for any election in that polling area.&amp;quot;
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As you can see, print media is not specifically mentioned. Section 126 (A) which deals with the broadcast of exit polls, on the other hand, explicitly mentions that this applies to the print media too.
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The Election Commission is aware that this implicit exemption for print does not fit in with the spirit of the law, which is meant to give voters a 48-hour period of silence, free from campaigning. &amp;quot;We don&#039;t really know how this crept in; nobody seemed to have any institutional memory of how print got left out,&amp;quot; Dr. S Y Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner, said. Sources in the EC told The Hindu on Saturday that since there had been no legal challenge, the exemption for print continued. &amp;quot;All it needs is for Parliament to amend the law,&amp;quot; an Election Commission official explained.
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It seems evident why the two biggest national parties have never moved to close this loophole while in power. While it is the BJP that carpeted Delhi with front-page ads on Saturday, as it did on April 10, the Congress has done the same in the past. A look at the archives of major English newspapers for May 7, 2009, shows that both the Congress and the BJP took out ads.
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In a week from now, a Law Commission report on electoral reform is expected, which is expected to tackle this issue. But governments do not always take the Commission&#039;s recommendations on board, and past representations to the Ministry of Law and Justice from various committees and NGOs like the Association for Democratic Reforms on this specific loophole have gone unheeded. 
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 Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India&#039;s leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.
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Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll. (1) No person shall-
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As you can see, print media is not specifically mentioned. Section 126 (A) which deals with the broadcast of exit polls, on the other hand, explicitly mentions that this applies to the print media too.
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The Election Commission is aware that this implicit exemption for print does not fit in with the spirit of the law, which is meant to give voters a 48-hour period of silence, free from campaigning. &amp;quot;We don&#039;t really know how this crept in; nobody seemed to have any institutional memory of how print got left out,&amp;quot; Dr. S Y Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner, said. Sources in the EC told The Hindu on Saturday that since there had been no legal challenge, the exemption for print continued. &amp;quot;All it needs is for Parliament to amend the law,&amp;quot; an Election Commission official explained.
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It seems evident why the two biggest national parties have never moved to close this loophole while in power. While it is the BJP that carpeted Delhi with front-page ads on Saturday, as it did on April 10, the Congress has done the same in the past. A look at the archives of major English newspapers for May 7, 2009, shows that both the Congress and the BJP took out ads.
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-The Hindu


 Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India&#039;s leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.


Section 126 of the...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Hindu&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt; Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India&#039;s leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Section 126 of the Representation of People Act (1950) prohibits political parties from taking out television ads from 48 hours before an election. It does not, however, explicitly mention the print media. The relevant portions of the Act are as follows:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;Section 126. Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll. (1) No person shall-&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;(a) Convene, hold, attend, or address any public meeting or procession in connection with an election; or&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;(b) Display to the public any election matter by means of cinematograph, television or other similar apparatus-, or&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;(c) Propagate any election matter to the public by holding or by arranging the holding of, any musical concert or any theatrical performance or any other entertainment or amusement with a view to attracting the members of the public thereto, in any polling area during the period of forty-eight hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll for any election in that polling area.&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;As you can see, print media is not specifically mentioned. Section 126 (A) which deals with the broadcast of exit polls, on the other hand, explicitly mentions that this applies to the print media too.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;The Election Commission is aware that this implicit exemption for print does not fit in with the spirit of the law, which is meant to give voters a 48-hour period of silence, free from campaigning. &amp;quot;We don&#039;t really know how this crept in; nobody seemed to have any institutional memory of how print got left out,&amp;quot; Dr. S Y Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner, said. Sources in the EC told The Hindu on Saturday that since there had been no legal challenge, the exemption for print continued. &amp;quot;All it needs is for Parliament to amend the law,&amp;quot; an Election Commission official explained.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;It seems evident why the two biggest national parties have never moved to close this loophole while in power. While it is the BJP that carpeted Delhi with front-page ads on Saturday, as it did on April 10, the Congress has done the same in the past. A look at the archives of major English newspapers for May 7, 2009, shows that both the Congress and the BJP took out ads.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;In a week from now, a Law Commission report on electoral reform is expected, which is expected to tackle this issue. But governments do not always take the Commission&#039;s recommendations on board, and past representations to the Ministry of Law and Justice from various committees and NGOs like the Association for Democratic Reforms on this specific loophole have gone unheeded. &lt;/p&gt;&#039;
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-The Hindu


 Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India's leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.


Section 126 of the..."/>
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                <strong>Political ads exist in legal grey area -Rukmini S</strong></h1>
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                <div align="justify">-The Hindu</div><p align="justify"> Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India's leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.</p><p align="justify">Section 126 of the Representation of People Act (1950) prohibits political parties from taking out television ads from 48 hours before an election. It does not, however, explicitly mention the print media. The relevant portions of the Act are as follows:</p><p align="justify">&quot;Section 126. Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll:</p><p align="justify">Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll. (1) No person shall-</p><p align="justify">(a) Convene, hold, attend, or address any public meeting or procession in connection with an election; or</p><p align="justify">(b) Display to the public any election matter by means of cinematograph, television or other similar apparatus-, or</p><p align="justify">(c) Propagate any election matter to the public by holding or by arranging the holding of, any musical concert or any theatrical performance or any other entertainment or amusement with a view to attracting the members of the public thereto, in any polling area during the period of forty-eight hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll for any election in that polling area.&quot;</p><p align="justify">As you can see, print media is not specifically mentioned. Section 126 (A) which deals with the broadcast of exit polls, on the other hand, explicitly mentions that this applies to the print media too.</p><p align="justify">The Election Commission is aware that this implicit exemption for print does not fit in with the spirit of the law, which is meant to give voters a 48-hour period of silence, free from campaigning. &quot;We don't really know how this crept in; nobody seemed to have any institutional memory of how print got left out,&quot; Dr. S Y Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner, said. Sources in the EC told The Hindu on Saturday that since there had been no legal challenge, the exemption for print continued. &quot;All it needs is for Parliament to amend the law,&quot; an Election Commission official explained.</p><p align="justify">It seems evident why the two biggest national parties have never moved to close this loophole while in power. While it is the BJP that carpeted Delhi with front-page ads on Saturday, as it did on April 10, the Congress has done the same in the past. A look at the archives of major English newspapers for May 7, 2009, shows that both the Congress and the BJP took out ads.</p><p align="justify">In a week from now, a Law Commission report on electoral reform is expected, which is expected to tackle this issue. But governments do not always take the Commission's recommendations on board, and past representations to the Ministry of Law and Justice from various committees and NGOs like the Association for Democratic Reforms on this specific loophole have gone unheeded. </p>               </font>
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-The Hindu
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<p align="justify">
 Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India's leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.
</p>
<p align="justify">
Section 126 of the Representation of People Act (1950) prohibits political parties from taking out television ads from 48 hours before an election. It does not, however, explicitly mention the print media. The relevant portions of the Act are as follows:
</p>
<p align="justify">
&quot;Section 126. Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll:
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Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll. (1) No person shall-
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As you can see, print media is not specifically mentioned. Section 126 (A) which deals with the broadcast of exit polls, on the other hand, explicitly mentions that this applies to the print media too.
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The Election Commission is aware that this implicit exemption for print does not fit in with the spirit of the law, which is meant to give voters a 48-hour period of silence, free from campaigning. &quot;We don't really know how this crept in; nobody seemed to have any institutional memory of how print got left out,&quot; Dr. S Y Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner, said. Sources in the EC told The Hindu on Saturday that since there had been no legal challenge, the exemption for print continued. &quot;All it needs is for Parliament to amend the law,&quot; an Election Commission official explained.
</p>
<p align="justify">
It seems evident why the two biggest national parties have never moved to close this loophole while in power. While it is the BJP that carpeted Delhi with front-page ads on Saturday, as it did on April 10, the Congress has done the same in the past. A look at the archives of major English newspapers for May 7, 2009, shows that both the Congress and the BJP took out ads.
</p>
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In a week from now, a Law Commission report on electoral reform is expected, which is expected to tackle this issue. But governments do not always take the Commission's recommendations on board, and past representations to the Ministry of Law and Justice from various committees and NGOs like the Association for Democratic Reforms on this specific loophole have gone unheeded. 
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-The Hindu


 Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India's leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.


Section 126 of the...',
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-The Hindu
</div>
<p align="justify">
 Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India's leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.
</p>
<p align="justify">
Section 126 of the Representation of People Act (1950) prohibits political parties from taking out television ads from 48 hours before an election. It does not, however, explicitly mention the print media. The relevant portions of the Act are as follows:
</p>
<p align="justify">
&quot;Section 126. Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll:
</p>
<p align="justify">
Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll. (1) No person shall-
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(a) Convene, hold, attend, or address any public meeting or procession in connection with an election; or
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As you can see, print media is not specifically mentioned. Section 126 (A) which deals with the broadcast of exit polls, on the other hand, explicitly mentions that this applies to the print media too.
</p>
<p align="justify">
The Election Commission is aware that this implicit exemption for print does not fit in with the spirit of the law, which is meant to give voters a 48-hour period of silence, free from campaigning. &quot;We don't really know how this crept in; nobody seemed to have any institutional memory of how print got left out,&quot; Dr. S Y Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner, said. Sources in the EC told The Hindu on Saturday that since there had been no legal challenge, the exemption for print continued. &quot;All it needs is for Parliament to amend the law,&quot; an Election Commission official explained.
</p>
<p align="justify">
It seems evident why the two biggest national parties have never moved to close this loophole while in power. While it is the BJP that carpeted Delhi with front-page ads on Saturday, as it did on April 10, the Congress has done the same in the past. A look at the archives of major English newspapers for May 7, 2009, shows that both the Congress and the BJP took out ads.
</p>
<p align="justify">
In a week from now, a Law Commission report on electoral reform is expected, which is expected to tackle this issue. But governments do not always take the Commission's recommendations on board, and past representations to the Ministry of Law and Justice from various committees and NGOs like the Association for Democratic Reforms on this specific loophole have gone unheeded. 
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$metaTitle = 'LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Political ads exist in legal grey area -Rukmini S'
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-The Hindu


 Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India's leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.


Section 126 of the...'
$disp = '<div align="justify">-The Hindu</div><p align="justify"> Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India's leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated.</p><p align="justify">Section 126 of the Representation of People Act (1950) prohibits political parties from taking out television ads from 48 hours before an election. It does not, however, explicitly mention the print media. The relevant portions of the Act are as follows:</p><p align="justify">&quot;Section 126. Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll:</p><p align="justify">Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll. (1) No person shall-</p><p align="justify">(a) Convene, hold, attend, or address any public meeting or procession in connection with an election; or</p><p align="justify">(b) Display to the public any election matter by means of cinematograph, television or other similar apparatus-, or</p><p align="justify">(c) Propagate any election matter to the public by holding or by arranging the holding of, any musical concert or any theatrical performance or any other entertainment or amusement with a view to attracting the members of the public thereto, in any polling area during the period of forty-eight hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll for any election in that polling area.&quot;</p><p align="justify">As you can see, print media is not specifically mentioned. Section 126 (A) which deals with the broadcast of exit polls, on the other hand, explicitly mentions that this applies to the print media too.</p><p align="justify">The Election Commission is aware that this implicit exemption for print does not fit in with the spirit of the law, which is meant to give voters a 48-hour period of silence, free from campaigning. &quot;We don't really know how this crept in; nobody seemed to have any institutional memory of how print got left out,&quot; Dr. S Y Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner, said. Sources in the EC told The Hindu on Saturday that since there had been no legal challenge, the exemption for print continued. &quot;All it needs is for Parliament to amend the law,&quot; an Election Commission official explained.</p><p align="justify">It seems evident why the two biggest national parties have never moved to close this loophole while in power. While it is the BJP that carpeted Delhi with front-page ads on Saturday, as it did on April 10, the Congress has done the same in the past. A look at the archives of major English newspapers for May 7, 2009, shows that both the Congress and the BJP took out ads.</p><p align="justify">In a week from now, a Law Commission report on electoral reform is expected, which is expected to tackle this issue. But governments do not always take the Commission's recommendations on board, and past representations to the Ministry of Law and Justice from various committees and NGOs like the Association for Democratic Reforms on this specific loophole have gone unheeded. </p>'
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Political ads exist in legal grey area -Rukmini S

-The Hindu Are political advertisements in newspapers on the day of an election legally permissible? India's leading political parties appear to be operating in a legal grey area, a position of ambiguity that they themselves have perpetuated. Section 126 of the Representation of People Act (1950) prohibits political parties from taking out television ads from 48 hours before an election. It does not, however, explicitly mention the print media. The relevant portions of the Act are as follows: "Section 126. Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll: Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty-eight hours ending with hour ending for conclusion of poll. (1) No person shall- (a) Convene, hold, attend, or address any public meeting or procession in connection with an election; or (b) Display to the public any election matter by means of cinematograph, television or other similar apparatus-, or (c) Propagate any election matter to the public by holding or by arranging the holding of, any musical concert or any theatrical performance or any other entertainment or amusement with a view to attracting the members of the public thereto, in any polling area during the period of forty-eight hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll for any election in that polling area." As you can see, print media is not specifically mentioned. Section 126 (A) which deals with the broadcast of exit polls, on the other hand, explicitly mentions that this applies to the print media too. The Election Commission is aware that this implicit exemption for print does not fit in with the spirit of the law, which is meant to give voters a 48-hour period of silence, free from campaigning. "We don't really know how this crept in; nobody seemed to have any institutional memory of how print got left out," Dr. S Y Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner, said. Sources in the EC told The Hindu on Saturday that since there had been no legal challenge, the exemption for print continued. "All it needs is for Parliament to amend the law," an Election Commission official explained. It seems evident why the two biggest national parties have never moved to close this loophole while in power. While it is the BJP that carpeted Delhi with front-page ads on Saturday, as it did on April 10, the Congress has done the same in the past. A look at the archives of major English newspapers for May 7, 2009, shows that both the Congress and the BJP took out ads. In a week from now, a Law Commission report on electoral reform is expected, which is expected to tackle this issue. But governments do not always take the Commission's recommendations on board, and past representations to the Ministry of Law and Justice from various committees and NGOs like the Association for Democratic Reforms on this specific loophole have gone unheeded.