The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) is a voluntary self-regulatory council established in 1985 and registered as a non-profit society under section 25 of the Indian Companies Act, 2013, consisting of members from the advertising industry, media and other professionals. and related services industry and trade. The purpose of its constitution was the self-regulation of advertisements and to ensure that advertisements complied with the Self-Regulation Code, to control the content of advertisements and not to hinder the sale of products which might be deemed offensive, for any reason. whether by certain categories of people.

However, the question of whether the said code is mandatory or advisory arose due to the very fact that the code itself mentions that its rules are not the only ones that affect the advertising industry and that there are provisions similar statutory provisions, both at common law and at common law. in the statuses, which determines the form or content of an announcement.

He further clarified that the Code does not compete with other laws, rules and mechanisms by which they are enforced. The Code was designed to complement legal controls, not to usurp or replace them.

However, due to the rampant growth in the technological age and misuse of advertisements by industry players, the ASCI code was recognized by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India in inserting Rule 7(9) into the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994. framed by the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, now giving a statutory flavor to the self-regulatory character of the Code.

Pursuant to the said recognition, the Supreme Court of India, in its judgment dated January 12, 2017, titled ‘Common Cause (A Regd. Society) v. Union of India of India and Ors.‘ further affirmed and acknowledged the self-regulatory mechanism put in place for advertising content by ASCI regarding road safety advertisements. Apart from the above-mentioned rule, the ASCI Code has also received recognition and affirmation from the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA), as the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) has joined hands with ASCI to address all complaints regarding misleading advertisements received in the framework of its grievances against misleading advertising (GAMA). portal.