In a recent circular issued on July 7th, the Registrar General (in charge) of the Madras High Court reaffirmed the resolution passed by the Full Court of the Madras High Court to prohibit the display of portraits or statues of any leader other than Mahatma Gandhi and Saint Thiruvalluvar inside courts and court premises in Tamil Nadu.
The circular explicitly stated, "Except the statues and portraits of Mahatma Gandhiji and Saint Thiruvalluvar, no other portraits and pictures shall be displayed anywhere inside the Court premises," and it further directed all Principal District Judges, District Judges, Principal Judges, District Judge-cum-Chief Judicial Magistrates of the Districts, and the Chief Judge of Puducherry to strictly adhere to these resolutions. They were also instructed to take appropriate actions, including lodging suitable complaints with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry if necessary.
The issue of displaying portraits and statues of political leaders in court halls has been a contentious matter for several years. The Full Court of Madras High Court had previously addressed this matter in various resolutions, starting from October 2008. In that resolution, the Full Court rejected the request from the Tamil Nadu Dr. B.R Ambedkar Advocates Association to display the portrait of Dr. B.R Ambedkar in court halls across Tamil Nadu.
Subsequently, on March 11, 2010, the Full Court observed incidents where statues of national leaders were damaged, leading to law and order issues. To prevent any further controversies, the Full Court resolved not to permit the erection of any statue in any court premises, whether in Chennai, Madurai, District Courts, Taluk Courts, or any other court subordinate to the High Court.
The resolutions against displaying portraits and statues on court premises were reiterated on various occasions, including in April 2011, April 2013, and December 2013. Recently, during a meeting in April 2023, the Full Court once again unanimously resolved that only portraits and statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Saint Thiruvalluvar would be allowed in court premises, reiterating their stance against displaying images of other political leaders.
Following the issuance of the recent circular, some lawyers have expressed their dissent and planned to stage demonstrations calling for the withdrawal of the ban on displaying portraits of political leaders. The matter remains a subject of debate within the legal community in Tamil Nadu.
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