SC Hearing On National Anthem; Who Said What? [Also Read The Judgment]

The Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice AM Khanwilkar on Tuesday, replacing the word “shall” with “may” in direction (d) in the order issued by it on November 30, 2016, ruled that the playing of the national anthem by movie halls shall be deemed to be directory and not mandatory.However, the bench clarified that should a cinema hall choose to play the national anthem, it shall be compulsory for every person in the audience to stand in respect thereof, unless they are entitled to exemption on account of disability as observed by the order dated April 18, 2017.The order was passed in the light of the affidavit filed on behalf of the Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday urging for the restoration of status quo ante so far as the court’s earlier order dated November 30, 2016 is concerned, whereby the bench had made it compulsory for all cinema halls to play the national anthem before the commencement of a film and for the audiences to stand in respect thereof.Subsequently, the direction had been relaxed in favour of certain categories of disabled persons.Thereafter, last year on October 23, the bench had deemed it appropriate to allow the government to take a call with regard to requirement of playing the national anthem in movie theaters and bring out the requisite circular, notification or rules. The bench had also clarified that in exercising its discretion, the government shall not be influenced by the interim order dated November 30, 2016, of the court.As opposed to its latest stance, the Centre had on October 23, 2017, insisted that national anthem be compulsory played in movie halls so as to instill a sense of patriotism and nationalism among the persons in the audience, which it had regarded necessary in view of the vast cultural diversity in the country. The Centre had relied on the fundamental duty in Article 51A(a) in that behalf.By the affidavit filed on Monday, the Union of India conveyed that since the framing of guidelines governing the circumstances and occasions on which the National Anthem may be lawfully played or sung and the proper decorum to be maintained on such occasions requires the consultation with several ministries and departments, an inter-ministerial committee, comprising of representatives of inter alia the Home Ministry, Ministries of External Affairs, Information and Broadcasting, Defence, Culture and of Parliamentary Affairs, and the departments of Legal Affairs and of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, was constituted on December 5, 2017. The committee shall submit its recommendations on the matter in issue within 6 months of its constitution. The affidavit suggested that the apex court may consider the restoration of the position as it stood prior to its order dated November 30, 2016, in so far as the interim order mandates the playing of the national anthem in film theatres.On Tuesday, the hearing commenced with the Attorney General KK Venugopal urging before the bench, “It is suggested on behalf of the Centre that either an order for status quo ante may be passed, restoring the position as existed before the November 30, 2016 order, or the term “shall” may be replaced by “may”, until the Committee decides the issue finally.”Advocate Abhinav Srivastava, appearing on behalf of the present petitioner, submitted, “I wish to draw the attention of the bench to the lacunae in the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act of 1971. While Section 2 thereof provides an expansive definition of what constitutes the respect or disrespect of the national flag and the Constitution, section 3 dealing with national anthem merely penalises the act of stopping one from singing the national anthem. While it is expressly provided that the tearing of the Constitution or the mutilation of the flag shall tantamount to disrespect, no clarification has been provided as to what constitutes disrespect of the national anthem. There have been instances where even national dignitaries have remained seated during the playing of the national anthem and where the anthem has been printed on plates meant to serve food. This is because there is no clarity as to whether or not a particular act amounts to disrespect of the national anthem”.Referring to the ‘Orders Relating to the National Anthem of India’ as issued by the Home Ministry, the counsel remarked, “The orders provide that there cannot be any exhaustive list of occasions for the singing of the national anthem. Also, mass singing along with the national anthem is allowed so long as done with due respect. Schools have been required to ensure that the national anthem is sung at the beginning of each day and also incorporate the same in all programmes. The orders also mandate that everyone should stand in attention when the anthem is playing, except when played as part of a feature film. These executive orders have been in existence since 2012 and were reiterated in 2016, but lack proper...

SC Hearing On National Anthem; Who Said What? [Also Read The Judgment]

Mehal Jain

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