The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday observed that there were no statutes to prevent state minister Navjot Singh Sidhu from appearing in television shows and advertisement campaigns, PTI reported. Replying to a PIL filed by Chandigarh-based advocate Hari Chand Arora, the bench, however, said Sidhu should exercise caution as far as his TV appearances were concerned and behave in a manner suited to a politician.

“Lakhs of people follow the example set by ministers, and public conduct of ministers is being watched,” the court said, adding that courts cannot start “moral policing politicians”. “After all, they are elected representatives. We may agree, but how do we legally enforce it?”

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This comes as a relief for the cricketer-turned-politician, who had expressed his wish to continue as a celebrity-judge on The Kapil Sharma Show. “What I do after work hours is no one’s business,” Sidhu had said earlier. “Sometimes I work all seven days from early morning till 6 pm. So what I do after 6 pm is nobody’s business. It’s not an office of profit.”

The court also criticised the litigant for citing rules applicable to civil servants to demand a ban on Sidhu’s TV appearances. A bench comprising justices SS Saron and Darshan Singh said, “We have no doubt it is a serious issue, but how far can the court extend its jurisdiction?”

In March this year, Punjab Attorney General Atul Nanda had said there was no conflict of interest between Sidhu’s office as a state Cabinet minister and his appearance on the show. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who had sought legal advice on the matter, had also thrown his weight behind the Bharatiya Janata Party-turned-Congress leader. “There is no hindrance now to his continuation on TV shows, nor any need to change his portfolio [of Punjab culture minister]” he had said.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for August 2.