A Bhopal-based petitioner has filed a PIL demanding surrender of the country’s highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna by Sachin Tendulkar for continuing to appear in several TV Commercials.
Bhopal based petitioner V K Naswah has accused the star cricketer of misusing the honour by appearing in commercial advertisements.
He has also demanded that government should take back the award or the cricketer should himself return it on moral grounds.
The PIL was admitted by Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday.
The court has directed assistant solicitor general to find out whether there were any Supreme Court guidelines that bar the 42-year-old from appearing in TV commercials.
Tendulkar, the highest run scorer in both ODI and Test cricket, was conferred with the prestigious award last November where he was preferred over hockey legend Major Dhyanchand.
The Master Blaster, who remains an inspiration for fans and cricketers across the world despite announcing his retirement last year in November, is the only cricketer to have scored 100 international centuries.
During his illustrious 24-year-old career, Tendulkar scored 15921 from 200 Tests and 18426 from 463 ODIs.
