TN Govt Free To Render 'Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu' Before National Anthem At Official Functions: Centre To Madras High Court

The bench of Chief Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan closed the plea after taking note of a revised circular issued by the Ministry, which gave discretion to the States to decide when to render their State songs.

The court noted that the State of Tamil Nadu has also issued a Government Order mandating that the State song – Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu be sung at the beginning of programmes across educational institutions, government officers, etc in Tamil Nadu. Considering the circular and the GO, the bench closed the plea.

“The revised circular dated 9.7.2026 leaves the placement and performance of State song to the discretion of the State Government. The Government of Tamil Nadu has formally reaffirmed that Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu will be sung at the commencement of official functions. As the grievances aired through this petition have been fully addressed by these administrative updates, no further issue remains for judicial determination,” the court observed while closing the plea.

The plea was filed by Ananya Radhakrishnan. An earlier plea filed by the same litigant, seeking to condemn the relegation of Tamil Nadu's state song, “Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu”, to third position during the swearing-in ceremony of the Chief Minister Vijay was withdrawn after giving liberty to the petitioner to challenge the Union Government's circular. Following this, the present petition was filed.

The petitioner had argued that the song, which is officially recognised as the State song, occupies immense historical, cultural and linguistic significance amongst the people of Tamil Nadu. It further states that the ceremonial recognition given to Tamil Thai Vaazthu represents coexistence between national unity and regional cultural dignity, both of which form integral features of the Constitution.

The petitioner had stated that by placing the song in the third position during the CM's swearing-in ceremony, deep anguish and concern were created in the minds of the people who perceived the same as unwarranted dilution and subordination of the ceremonial dignity traditionally accorded to the State Song.

It was also argued that the altered order of rendition of the song violated cultural rights under Article 29(1) of the Constitution and the principles of federalism. The petitioner also pointed out that the Central Government's circular did not explicitly mandate rendering the song after the national song.

When the matter was taken up for hearing, the Central Government informed the court that as per the revised circular issued on July 9, 2026, whenever a State song was played along with the National song or the National anthem, and both the National song and the National anthem are played together, the National song should be sung first, followed by the National anthem.

The Government informed the court that the circular did not mention the order in which the State song was to be played and the discretion was given to the State. The court was also informed about the recent order issued by the Tamil Nadu government.

Considering the above, the court noted that the prayer had now become infructuous and thus dismissed the plea.

Counsel for Petitioner: Ms. Oveya for Mr.R.Prabhakaran

Counsel for Respondents: Mr. A. Kumaraguru Senior Panel Counsel, Mr. Vijay Narayan Advocate General assisted by Mr. J. Lenin Spl. Govt. Pleader

Case Title: Ananya Radhakrishnan v The Join Secretary to Government of India and Others

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Mad) 397

Case No: WP No 21971 of 2026