Ads show condoms only as pleasure instruments, not contraceptives: HC

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan high court has dismissed a plea against the Centre’s order allowing airing of condom advertisements only after 10 pm, and rebuked the petitioner NGO for “proxy litigation”, observing that the “obscene” ads were only aimed at promoting condoms as “instruments of pleasure” and not for contraceptive use.

The court was unimpressed by the arguments of the counsel for Global Alliance for Human Rights, Prateek Kasliwal, who contended that the order of information and broadcasting ministry was a restriction on the business of the condom industry and will have a deteriorating effect on the awareness mission of the NGO working to combat AIDS.

“This country has grown from 45 crore (population) post-independence to over 1.3 billion as of now. Where were you and the condom campaign to prevent population explosion?” a bench of justice Gopal Krishan Vyas and justice GR Moolchandani said. “You are not concerned with the use of condom as contraceptive but for preventing STDS (sexually transmitted diseases). We fail to understand what’s wrong if the obscene advertisements in the name of condoms are regulated and allowed only between 10pm to 6am,” it said.

The bench came down on the NGO, saying, “You are not espousing your cause but the cause of someone else. We don’t appreciate proxy litigation. The ads are so obscene that one cannot watch them in Indian social structure with family. What to say about (the contention of) giving a message for using condom as contraceptive. Companies are promoting it as pleasure instruments.”

THE COURT WAS UNIMPRESSED BY THE ARGUMENTS SAYING THE MINISTRY ORDER WAS A RESTRICTION ON

THE BUSINESS OF THE CONDOM INDUSTRY