NAGPUR: About two years back, Press Council of India (PCI) chairman and former supreme court judge Markandey Katju had remarked that "90% of Indians are "idiots" who can be easily be misled in religion's name". On Wednesday, Nagpur bench of Bombay high court made oral observations that echoed the sentiments.

"We are living in a country where people themselves want to get fooled. As long as they continue to do so, nobody can stop them," a bench of Justices Bhushan Gavai and Sunil Shukre said. Their observations came while hearing a petition of Yavatmal resident who prayed for prohibition on TV channels from airing misleading advertisements on religious products like Hanuman Chalisa Yantra (locket). The judges also invited attention towards alleged attempts of Pune police commissioner (Gulabrao Pol) to take help of planchette to crack Narendra Dabholkar murder case before adjourning the hearing by two weeks.

Assistant solicitor general Rohit Deo informed the court that the union government had constituted a high-level panel to keep a watch on such misleading advertisements and would be submitting its report within eight weeks. Ironically, even after rationalist Dabholkar sacrificed his life fighting against superstition, nothing much has changed. The ?Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practice and Black Magic Act, 2013' enacted by the Maharashtra government last year too failed to make any impact.

Appearing for petitioner Gitesh Pandey , RL Khapre pointed out that renowned Bollywood artists like Manoj Kumar and Mukesh Khanna , singers Anup Jalota, Anuradha Paudwal and others, were being used to lure the viewers in purchasing the spiritual locket that had allegedly had power to get rid of all troubles. He contended such misleading advertisements aired on channels like Sahara and Zee were clear violation of Advertising Code and Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995. Khapre informed that Sony channel had already stopped airing such endorsements while demanding directives to Andha Shraddha Nirmulan Samiti to take action against manufacturers of locket.

Senior counsel KH Deshpande, appearing for respondents, argued there was no violation in airing such advertisements as the manufacturer didn't force anyone to buy the product. He said such artefacts were common across all religions and supposed to be sacrosanct. "We pray to the God daily and also perform various rituals like Yadnya," he said.

The judges observed that reciting Hanuman Chalisa was altogether a different matter while defrauding people through its use must be prohibited. "We make it clear we are not against any religious beliefs or sentiments, but against its misuse by a section of people," the Justices clarified.

