India's Supreme Court banned on Friday political commercials perceived as slanderous after the major parties accused each other of hitting below the belt ahead of national elections that begin April 20.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice V.N. Khare said television channels could not air political advertisements which were "shocking, disgusting and revolting."
"We are in the midst of watching a great cricket series and we do not want it to be substituted by political mudslinging," the bench said in a reference to India's full cricket tour of Pakistan in almost 15 years.
The main opposition Congress party has demanded a ban on commercials seen as attacks on its leader Sonia Gandhi who was born in Italy but obtained Indian citizenship after her marriage to late premier Rajiv Gandhi.
One of the TV spots showed Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly hoisting the national flag with a template that asks potential voters whether a "foreigner" should fly the Indian colours.
India's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hailed the court order as it had protested an upcoming commercial that accused Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, 79, of collaborating with the British during colonial rule.
"We have always been advocating that poll campaigning should be based on programmes, policies and achievements. Unfortunately, the Congress has always deviated from them due to bankruptcy of issues," BJP spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.
Both Congress and the BJP have accused the other party of being behind the advertisements which were ostensibly funded by outside groups.
The Supreme Court bench in its order asked the Election Commission to track advertisers who could be fronts for political organisations.
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