Advertisement-removal orders must identify the violated rule and afford a reasonable opportunity to respond.

The petitioner, an educational trust holding a licence to display advertisements for its institutions, including its law institution, challenged a Panchayat Development Officer’s order dated 23 June 2026 requiring removal of all advertisements within 24 hours.

In an earlier writ petition, the Court had considered buntings depicting a person apparently dressed as an advocate and permitted the petitioner to replace them with buntings that did not offend the Bar Council’s Rules; it also directed the authority to defer action for eight weeks.

The petitioner stated that the buntings at issue had been removed and that it would not display advertisements contrary to the Bar Council’s Rules.

Whether the petitioner could put up buntings under its licence notwithstanding the impugned order.

Whether the authority could direct removal of the advertisements without identifying the applicable Rule allegedly violated and giving the petitioner an opportunity to respond.

The Court considered the petitioner’s licence, which permitted advertisements subject to its stated conditions, and the requirement that an alleged regulatory violation be identified before action is taken, with the affected party given notice and a reasonable opportunity to respond.

The Bar Council’s Rules were referred to in relation to advertisements by advocates, but the Court did not identify or interpret a specific Rule.

No specific statutory provision or precedent was cited as the basis for the decision.

The Court found that neither the earlier communication nor the impugned order specified the Rule allegedly breached or explained how the buntings violated it.

It also noted that the petitioner had removed the buntings in question and had undertaken not to put up advertisements contrary to the Bar Council’s Rules.

In those circumstances, the authority’s direction to remove all advertisements could not stand; any future action would require notice identifying the Rule relied upon and a reasonable opportunity for the petitioner to respond.

The petitioner may display buntings in accordance with its licence, without prejudice to the respondents’ ability to take action for a violation after identifying the applicable Rule and giving the petitioner a reasonable opportunity to be heard.