New Delhi: A general view of the Supreme Court of India standing tall under a clear sky, in New Delhi, Monday, January 05, 2025. (Photo: IANS/Deepak Kumar)
Dimapur, September 22 (MExN): The Supreme Court has said a “conscientious objector” should not be punished for refusing to sing Vande Mataram, while asking the Centre to keep in mind its 1986 judgment protecting children who declined to sing the national anthem on grounds of conscience.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant was hearing a petition by Carnatic vocalist T M Krishna challenging the law mandating the singing of all six stanzas of Vande Mataram, contending that the last four verses violate the secular character of the nation.
As per a PTI report, seeking the Centre’s response on the plea, the bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, said it would expect the principle laid down in the apex court’s 1986 judgment in Bijoe Emmanuel vs State of Kerala to govern the amended law. In that case, the court had protected schoolchildren who respectfully declined to sing the national anthem on grounds of conscience.
“We are not inclined to issue notice. But we would expect that the law of the land, as declared by this court in Bijoe Emmanuel, will govern the (amended) Act,” Justice Bagchi observed orally while addressing Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.
“What is the national song is not in dispute. The declaration of law in Bijoe Emmanuel is not yet questioned. It is for the democratic state to decide what is the national song, whether two stanzas or four stanzas. But nobody who feels an infraction of Article 25 and 26 rights or a conscientious objector would be subjected to penal consequences,” Justice Bagchi said.
