Kerala High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking action against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s picture on Covid-19 vaccination certificates. The court called the petition “politically and publicity motivated” and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the petitioner.

While dismissing the plea, the High Court observed that “the petition seems to be filed with political motives and a publicity motivated petition. Therefore, it deserves to be dismissed with a heavy cost.”

The court then imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh to be paid by the petitioner to the Kerala Legal Services Authority within 6 weeks.

The petitioner, a senior citizen, has contended in his plea that the Prime Minister’s photo on his vaccination certificate was a violation of fundamental rights.

During a hearing on the plea last week, advocate Ajit Joy, appearing for the petitioner, told the court it was not a matter of political differences, as the Supreme Court has laid down guidelines for advertisements and campaigns using public money.

He said having the photo on the certificates would also influence the minds of voters and this issue was raised during recent state Assembly elections.

The counsel’s argument came after Justice PV Kunhikrishnan asked the petitioner whether he was ashamed of the Prime Minister.

“Why are you (petitioner) ashamed of the Prime Minister? He came to power through the mandate of the people… we may have different political views but he is still out PM,” added the judge.