TV ads of items claiming to possess ‘supernatural’ powers banned by Bombay HC

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has banned the sale of items that claim to possess miraculous or supernatural powers via television advertisement. 

The Aurangabad bench of the court, comprising Justice Tanaji Nalawade and Justice Mukund Sewlikar ruled that TV advertisements of such items, would be punishable under the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013.

The court was  ruling on a petition seeking a ban on such advertisements on TV channels. The petitioner, in his plea stated that he came across advertisements on TV channels for articles like Hanuman Chalisa yantra claiming they possessed special, miraculous properties/qualities. 

The petetioner citied the advertiser’s claim that the yantra was prepared by Baba Mangalnath, who had achieved Siddhi. The petitioner argued that such advertisements pushed false propaganda and exploited people, who are superstitious by nature.

The court observed that, “Due to this superstitious approach of the educated and the uneducated persons alike,  they are being exploited by so-called Babas by selling articles by giving them names like Yantra, Ganda etc.”