Jharkhand HC orders removal of low-hanging hoardings in Ranchi over road safety concerns
THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK Ranchi, August 11: The Jharkhand High Court has directed the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) to remove advertisement hoardings,…
THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Ranchi, August 11: The Jharkhand High Court has directed the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) to remove advertisement hoardings, billboards and placards installed at low heights on streetlight poles and dividers, observing that such structures pose a threat to commuters and can create blind spots on roads.
Justice Ananda Sen issued the direction while hearing two writ petitions filed by the Jharkhand State Outdoor Advertising Association and RDS Advertising & Marketing Group. The petitions challenged the direction issued to advertising agencies to remove hoardings, monopoles and unipoles in Ranchi.
Court flags safety risks posed by roadside advertisements
The court’s intervention came after examining photographs submitted along with an interlocutory application in one of the cases.
One photograph showed a unipole carrying an advertisement for “Maa Gayatri Jewellers” protruding onto the roadside, with the large billboard extending up to the middle of the road.
The court also noted that advertisement boards had been installed on streetlight poles placed along a road divider. Some of these boards were positioned at such a low height that they could potentially strike motorcycle and two-wheeler riders passing along the road.
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Low-height hoardings can threaten commuters, court says
Justice Sen observed that placing advertisement boards at a low height on electricity or streetlight poles located in the middle of roads is a safety threat to commuters.
The court further noted that such installations could create blind spots for road users, adding to the potential risk of accidents.
RMC says hoardings can distract drivers
During the hearing, counsel representing the Ranchi Municipal Corporation submitted that monopoles, unipoles, advertisement hoardings, billboards and placards can be hazardous because they have the potential to distract drivers and affect their concentration.
According to the RMC, such distractions could contribute to untoward incidents, including injuries and loss of life. The civic body sought additional time to file a detailed counter affidavit.
The advertising agencies, meanwhile, argued that the authorities should identify which particular hoardings posed a threat, contending that all hoardings could not automatically be treated as hazardous.
High Court sets 12-foot minimum height
The High Court directed the Ranchi Municipal Corporation to remove advertisement hoardings, billboards and placards attached to streetlight poles on road dividers when they are installed at a low height from the road surface.
The court specified that if advertisements are installed on electricity or streetlight poles located on road dividers, no part of the advertisement board should be below 12 feet from the surface or alignment of the road.
It further ordered that any hoarding, advertising board or placard installed on streetlights or unipoles below the prescribed height should either be removed immediately or shifted to a height exceeding 12 feet.
Cases to be heard again next week
The High Court has directed that the matters be listed again next week and ordered the respondents to file their counter affidavit in the meantime.
The directions were issued in W.P.(C) No. 2560 of 2026, filed by the Jharkhand State Outdoor Advertising Association, and W.P.(C) No. 2508 of 2026, filed by M/s RDS Advertising & Marketing Group.
