ICICI BANK LTD. AND ANR. versus MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF GREATER BOMBAY AND ORS.

Citation: [2005] SUPP. 2 S.C.R. 62 · Decided: 04-08-2005 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: P. VENKATARAMA REDDI · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Judgment (excerpt)

A 
ICICI BANK LTD. AND ANR. 
v. 
MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF GREATER BOMBAY AND ORS. 
AUGUST 4, 2005 
B 
[P. VENKATARAMA REDDI AND P.P. NAOLEKAR, JJ.] 
c 
D 
E 
F 
G 
Bombay Municipal Corporation Act 1883 : 
Advertisement-Section 328A-Meaning and scope-llluminated Sign 
Boards ftxed by the bank above the entry of its ATM centers and extension 
counters indicating the location-Held, not only supply the information of 
location of the service provided but also may serve the commecial interest 
of the bank by affecting the decision of the prospective customers-Whether 
such· a sign board would tantamount to an advertisement. or not would· 
depend upon the facts of each case depending upon the ~TM· Centres 
established in that area. 
Section 328 and 328A-Advertisement-Comparative scope of-Held, 
section 328 A applies to the advertisement alone whereas section 328 
comprehends even some thing which is in the nature of advertisements-The 
reach, ambit and scope of these two sections are quite different and they 
operate in different fields. 
Precedents-Supreme Court decision, whether binding precedent-
Held, ratio of the judgment alone is binding as a precedent which has to be 
ascertained by analyzing· all the material facts and issues involved and 
argued on both sides in the case-The decision should be read with reference 
to and in the context to particular statutory provisions interpreted by the 
court-Ratio in Municipal Corporation of Greater Bomaby v. Bharat 
Petroleum Corporation Ltd. could not be relied upon in the present case 
as it involved the interpretation of section 328 and not section 328 A-
Constitution of India, Article 141. 
Words and Phrases-Interpretation of-Words used in a statute should 
be understood in their natural, ordinary and popular sense in the context 
in which they are used in the statute. 
'Advertisement', meaning of-Held, in the context word advertisement 
has been used in section 328 anJ in the commercial and ordinary parlance 
H 
it must have some commercial purpose and should be indicative of business 
62 
..
ICICI BANK LTD. v. MUNICIPAL CORPN. OF GREATER BOMBAY 63 
activity of the displayer with a view to attract the attention of the people to 
A 
the displayer's business. 
The ICICI Bank without seeking permission of the Bombay 
Municipal Corporation had put up illuminated sign boards above the 
entry of its A TM Centres and Extension Counters to indicate their 
location. The Municip~l Corporation issued noticed to the bank under 
Sections 328 and 328 A of The Bombay Municipal Corporation Act 1888. 
Bank filed a writ petition in the High Court for quashing of the notices 
as being illegal, null and void. It was pleaded that the sign board did not 
amount to advertisement as specified in section 328 or 328 A. Relying 
on Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay v. Bharat Petroleum 
Corporation Ltd., the High Court dismissed the petition. Hence this appeal 
by the bank. 
The bank pleaded that the sign boards merely indicate to its 
customers about the location of ATM Centres and extension counters 
B 
c 
and did not relate to the business or commercial activity of the bank. 
D 
Allowing the appeal, the Court 
HELD: I. An advertisement is a matter that draws attention of the 
public or segment of public to a product, service, person, organization 
or line of conduct in a manner calculated to promote or oppose directly 
E 
or indirectly that products, service, person, organization or line of conduct 
intended to promote sale or use of product or range of products. An 
advertisement is an information that the producer provides about its 
products or services. An advertisement tries to get consumers to buy a 
product or a service. An advertisement is generally of goods and services 
F 
and_ is an information intended for the potential customers and not a 
mere display of the name of the company unless the same happens to be 
a trade mark or trade name. The advertisement would be for the purpose 
of directing or soliciting customers to the product or service prominently 
shown in the advertisement. Therefore, an advertisement within the 
meaning of Section 328 A of the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act 
must primarily have a commercial purpose and should be indicative of 
business activity of the displayer with a view to attract the attention of 
people to its business. [75-D-E; 76-H; 77-B[ 
G 
Block's Law Dictionary, 8th Edn. and Commercial Dictionary; New 
H 
64 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2005] 

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