Published Dec 08, 2023 | 4:28 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 08, 2023 | 4:28 PM
The Kerala High Court. (South First)
A public interest litigation (PIL) has been moved in the Kerala High Court demanding a ban on private institutions naming their institutes with prefixes “India” and “Indian”.
The PIL, moved by advocates K Dhruv Kumar, Shakthi Prakash and Harikrishnan MS, stated that the naming was contrary to the provisions of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, reported LiveLaw
Hearing the matter, a division bench comprising Chief Justice AJ Desai and Justice VG Arun issued notices to the educational institutions that are listed as respondents.
The plea alleged that the institutions used the prefixes with the intent to create a “deceptive impression” to mislead the students for financial gains.
The institutions named in the pleas are Lakshya Indian Institute of Commerce Private Limited, Indian Institute Of Emergency Medical Services, Indian Institute of Hotel Management Studies, Indian Institute of Financial Planning, Indian Institute of Dental Technology, and Indian Institute of Paramedical Science & Technology.
The plea said that the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act prohibits the use of terms like “India”, and “Indian” by non-governmental agencies or organisations, LiveLaw reported.
The petitioner also alleged that the institute, Lakshya Indian Institute of Commerce Private Limited, highlighted “Indian Institute of Commerce” in its logo and minimised “Lakshya” to mislead students.
It was also stated that he had also submitted representations to the Union minister for human resource development, and the Union minister for information and broadcasting regarding the misleading and deceptive advertisements by the institutes.
“The use of the prefixes ‘India’ and ‘Indian’ by private educational institutions is highly misleading especially to the young and gullible aspiring students freshly graduating from school, who would in all probability, compare the private educational institutions with the premier public institutions such as Indian Institute of Technology, Indian Institute of Management, Indian Institute of Science, and the like.”, the plea stated.
The plea also sought an interim relief against the educational institutions for immediate removal of prefixes such as ‘India’, and ‘Indian’ from the advertisements and other promotional materials.
