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Sometime up to the year 2000 the appellant No.1, ICICI Bank has installed ATM Centers and Extension counters, Bank Branches at 64 locations in the city of Bombay for the convenience of its depositors. Certain signboards were fixed above the entry of the ATM centers and extension counters indicating their location. They are illuminated to indicate the locations of the ATM centers. The Municipal Corporation did not approve of putting up of the illuminated signboards of ATM centers and therefore issued notice to the appellant under Section 328 and 328-A of the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act 1888 (hereinafter to be referred to as `The Act'). The contents of the notice are that the appellant has displayed at its premises sky sign/Glow Sign/Neon Sign/Illuminated Boards without the permission of the Bombay Municipal Corporation. It was incumbent upon the appellant before putting up such signboards etc., to have taken the permission and made the required payment. The notice required the appellant to make certain payment towards by filling the prescribed form within three days of the receipt of the notice, failing which BMC would take necessary action, including defacing/removal of the boards at appellant's cost. The notice was replied by the appellant contending therein that the appellant does not admit any of the allegations mentioned in the notice and requested the BMC not to take any action as contemplated in the said notice. Thereafter in the month of August 2003 the appellant filed a writ petition in the High Court of Bombay alleging that the impugned notices which were served on the appellant bank are wholly without jurisdiction and without the authority of law and that the same violated the fundamental and other rights of the appellant bank and therefore the same are illegal, null and void. According to the appellant the signboards fixed over the ATM Centers or Extension counters does not amount to advertisement as specified in Section 328A of the Act nor do they come under the definition of sky- sign as defined in Section 328 of the Act.. They merely tell the existing account holder about the location of the ATM booth. The said signboards are only for the guidance of the public and that the services rendered by the appellant bank are not advertised. The signboards are essential for the working and business of the appellant bank and does not amount to advertisement and therefore the notices issued by the Bombay Municipal Corporation, requiring the appellant to make the payment of the amount is illegal. The High Court dismissed the writ petition filed by the appellant on the ground that the controversy involved in the case is squarely covered by the judgment of the Apex Court in Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay Vs. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. JT 2002 (3) SC 452 and held that the signboards fixed above the ATM Centers of the appellant Bank do amount to an advertisement. The impugned notices, therefore, cannot be faulted. In consequence thereof the writ petition filed by the appellant was dismissed. The learned senior counsel Shri R.F. Nariman has urged that the illuminated signboards of the appellant Bank does not fall within the definition of sky-sign in Section 328 of the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act 1888 and therefore Section 328 of the Act has no application. Hence, the High Court committed an error in applying the ratio laid down by this Court in the matter of Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay's case (supra). The signboards fixed on the ATM Centers of the Bank and its Extension Counters only indicates to its customers about the location of the Bank/ATM Centers to facilitate them to carry out the banking transaction at any time of the day or night and is in the nature of the in-house facility provided to the customers of the bank and does not in any way convey message of commercial or business activities of the appellant bank. The illuminated signboard does not relate to the business or commercial activities of the bank nor does it propagate the ideas with regard to the goods or services rendered by the party. It merely displays as to where the ATM Center is located and therefore the action of the bank putting up the illuminated signboards does not fall within the ambit of Section 328A of the Act. To counter this argument, Mr. V.R. Reddy, learned senior counsel submitted that in the facts of the case, the decision given by this Court in the case of Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay (supra) is directly on point and the ratio decided covers the case. In any case, the illuminated signboards at the entry of the ATM Center and Extension Counter does not indicate their locations alone but attract the prospective customers also to open their accounts with the ICICI Bank and in that manner it propagates ideas with regard to the goods or the services rendered by Bank and therefore would be covered under Section 328A of the Act.

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(3) If any advertisement be erected, exhibited, fixed or retained contrary to the provisions of this section after the written permission for the erection, exhibition, fixing or retention thereof for any period shall have expired or become void, the Commissioner may, by notice in writing, require the owner or occupier of the land, building wall, hoarding or structure upon which the same is erected, exhibited, fixed or retained, to take down or remove such advertisement By virtue of Section 328 of the Act, no person is permitted without the written permission of the Commissioner to erect, fix or retain any sky-sign, and the permission granted by the Commissioner or the renewal thereof shall be for any period exceeding two yeas from the date of each such permission or renewal. Sub-s.(3) authorizes the Commissioner by written notice to direct the owner or occupier of the land, building or structure upon or over which the sky-sign is erected, fixed or retained to take down and remove such sky-sign, if such sky-sign is fixed, erected or retained contrary to the provisions of Section 328 of the Act. According to Sub-s.(3) "Sky-sign" shall mean any word, letter, model, sign deice or representation in the nature of an advertisement, announcement or direction, supported on or attached to any post, pole, standard frame-work or other support wholly or in part upon or over any land, building or structure which, or any part of which sky-sign, shall be visible against the sky from some point in any street and includes all and every part of any such post, pole, standard framework or other support. The expression "sky-sign" shall also include any balloon, parachute, or other similar device employed wholly or in part for the purpose of any advertisement, announcement or direction upon or over any land, building or structure or upon or over any street. Sub-clause (a) and sub-clause (b) has a reference to what shall not be included to be the sky- sign. The reading of this section gives a clear cut indication that the sky-sign shall not be erected, fixed or retained unless written permission to that effect is obtained from the Commissioner and the sky-sign shall mean any word, letter, model, sign, device or representation balloon parachute or other similar device which is in the nature of an advertisement, announcement or direction or employed for the purpose of advertisement, announcement or direction, that is to say, if it is in the nature of advertisement, announcement or direction, it would be a sky-sign, provided the sign is visible against the sky from some point in any street which shall include part of any such post, pole, standard frame-work or other support upon which the sky-sign rest. For any advertisement, announcement or direction to be a `sky-sign', it is not necessary that the sign-boards are illuminated. The necessary ingredient of the sky-sign are that it should be in the nature of advertisement, announcement or direction, and should be visible against sky from some point in any street. So far as Section 328A is concerned, no person is permitted to erect, exhibit, fix or retain any advertisement upon any land, building, wall, hoarding or structure without the written permission of the Commissioner. Second proviso to sub-s.(1) exempts the person from taking permission if the advertisement is not illuminated or a sky-sign and which is exhibited within the window of any building or is related to the trade or business carried on within the land or building upon which such advertisement is exhibited or to any sale or letting of such land or building or any effects therein or to any sale, entertainment or meeting to be held upon or in the same building or to any trade or business carried on by the owner of any tram-car, omnibus or other vehicle upon which such advertisement is exhibited. Therefore, if the advertisement is not illuminated advertisement nor is a sky-sign and is being put at a place provided under clauses (a) and (b) of Section 328A of the Act, permission of the Commissioner is not required. The moment the advertisement is illuminated or is a sky-sign, even if it is exhibited or rested on the place mentioned in clauses (a) and (b) of Section 328A of the Act, the permission of the Commissioner is necessary. Sub-clause (3) authorizes the Commissioner to direct any person in breach of Section 328A to take down and remove such advertisement.

For application of Section 328, it is necessary that the word, model, sign or device or representation is in the nature of advertisement, announcement or direction. If it does not fall within the exception provided under the proviso, the permission of the Commissioner is necessary. It may be noted that under Section 328 it is not merely the advertisement but even something which is in the nature of advertisement is comprehended whereas under Section 328A, it is the advertisement alone which would attract the provisions of Section 328A of the Act. The language used in both the provisions make it explicitly clear that these provisions operate in somewhat different fields and the phrase `advertisement' used in both Sections in its context pronounces a different meaning of the word. The application of these Sections depends upon the kind of the sign-boards or the illuminated boards etc. Both the counsel have extensively argued the question of applicability of the decision rendered by this Court in the matter of Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay (supra), as decision of the High Court is based on this decision. It is obvious from the decision in the case that the Court has adjudicated and decided mainly the scope of sub-s.(3) of Section 328 of the Act. The Court has not decided on the applicability, scope and ambit of Section 328A of the Act. The definition of `sky-sign' came up for consideration before the Court. This Court laid emphasis on the expression "in the nature of an advertisement" in the definition of sky-sign in Paragraph 10 of the Judgment which expression is not found in Section 328A of the Act.

The context in which the word advertisement has been used in Section 328A of the Corporation Act and in the commercial and ordinary parlance it must have direct or indirect connection with the business, trade or commerce carried out by the advertiser. It must have some commercial exposition. The advertisement would be for the purpose of directing or soliciting customers to the product or service prominently shown in the advertisement. If ordinary parlance meaning is not given to the word advertisement in Section 328A it will create anomalous position, in as much as a simple name board put on the house to indicate who is residing in the premises, would also be an advertisement; a name board or sign board of a trader visible to the public or identifying the place of business would also be an advertisement. In our considered opinion advertisement within the meaning of Section 328A of the Corporation Act must primarily have the commercial purpose and should be indicative of business activity of the displayer with a view to attract the attention of people to its business. In the present case the appellant has put up an illuminated ATM board at various sites and as per the appellant it has been put only to tell the existing customers and others about the location of the ATM centers, which in itself is in the interest of public at large and not to attract new customers for opening the bank account. Normally, the ATM centers enable the customers to carry out the banking activities or transactions at any time , day or night and even on gazetted holidays. They are in the nature of public service as they enable the customers to do away with the need to keep large sum of cash in their house ; they are able to have access to the money in their account even on holidays and emergency. The ATM centers have a sign board over them that are illuminated and tell about the fact that there lies the ATM Center of the bank in that premises. The fact that there is an ATM center in the premises tells that the appellant bank is providing Automatic Teller Machine service there and hence the service provider is clearly identified. The communication in this is direct to the account holders and also the prospective account holders. The kind of information supplied of the location of the service provided may also be construed of commercial exploitation indirectly, as the sign boards may not aim at the existing customers only but they may also affect the decisions of the prospective customers. They tell the prospective customers that the service of the ATM round the clock is being made available by the appellant bank which would influence the prospective customers to make a decision about which service provider he or she has to choose. The sign board also helps the people to find out which bank is offering better services as compared to the other bank. The fact that a Bank has more ATM centers than the other banks, in the competitive trade and business, provides the incentive to the people to choose that Bank. The fact that one bank has an ATM center in the given location helps them to get more account holders in that area. This also serves the commercial interest of the bank. Whether particular action is an advertisement or not would depend on whether the person wants to promote directly or indirectly his product or service. If by any communication, the communicator tries to influence the people to buy his product or service or attract towards his product or service then it would be a guiding factor to identify whether a particular communication of the communicator tantamounts to be an advertisement. From the aforesaid analysis, in all fact situation and circumstances, at the outset it cannot be said that the sign boards indicating ATM centers cannot have commercial interest but would only tell about the location of the ATM centers to the existing account holders only. Whether signboard of ATM Centre tantamounts to be an advertisement or not would depend upon the facts of each case, depending on the number of ATM centers established by a particular bank in a particular locality or place or even city, to have the flavour of commercial or business interest of the service provider. In the present case no exercise was undertaken by the municipal authorities or the Bombay High Court before the High Court had reached to the conclusion that the sign boards of the ATM center put up by the ICICI bank at different locations would be an advertisement within the meaning of Section 328A of the Corporation Act. In fact the notices issued by the bank to the appellant are under Section 328, 328A of the Corporation Act. The reach, ambit and scope of these sections are quite different and they operate in different fields. They do not completely overlap. In the circumstances, it was appropriate for the Corporation to issue notices to the appellant either under Section 328 or under Section 328A of the Corporation Act and notice should not have been issued under both Sections for the same sign board. The Bombay Municipal Corporation Authorities seem to be in a state of doubt and hence the notices clearly do not specify under which section they propose to take action. As we have made it clear that in the present case the sign boards of ATM centers, which are not sky signs, are not covered under the provisions of Section 328 of the Corporation Act, the notices issued shall be deemed to have been issued under Section 328 A of the Corporation Act and the Corporation shall decide the question of advertisement under Section 328A of the Act after indicating the bank a fresh date of hearing. For the reasons stated above the appeal is allowed and judgment and order of the High Court is set aside. Fresh steps can be taken in the light of the observations in this judgment. In the circumstances of the case we do not impose any cost and the parties shall bear their own costs.