Media bodies seek clarity from Supreme Court on mandate for self-declaration for ads

The Association of Radio Operators for India (AROI), the Indian Newspaper Society (INS), the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), and the Broadband India Forum (BIF) have filed impleadment applications in the Supreme Court seeking clarity on the self-declaration certificate (SDC) mandate for new ads, sources privy to the development told ET.

Other industry bodies like the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF), the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), and the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) are also contemplating getting themselves involved in the matter between the Indian Medical Association and the Union of India, they added.

Impleadment is a plea to be a party in a lawsuit.


The industry bodies want to get impleaded in the Indian Medical Association vs. Union of India case listed for hearing on July 9.

While the industry has started complying with the SDC mandate, they are hoping to get some clarity from the Supreme Court on various issues including practical difficulties of implementing the SDC for digital media ads.

The SC passed an order on May 7, making it mandatory for all advertisers to generate SDC before publishing or broadcasting new ads. The apex court made the SDC mandatory to ensure that ads don't contain misleading claims and comply with rules and regulations.

Following the SC order, the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) came out with a directive stating that no new ads could be published or broadcast without the SDC from June 18.

The MIB said that the SDC for TV and radio ads will have to be generated through the Broadcast Seva portal and for print and digital ads from the Press Council of India website.

The industry bodies had petitioned the MIB to keep the implementation of the SDC on hold until the detailed operational guidelines of this directive are in place.