The Supreme Court on Monday refused to modify its December 2016 order regarding playing of the National Anthem in movie theatres and asked the Centre to consider amending the national flag code. The apex court set January 9 as the next date for hearing.
The top court also observed that it cannot be assumed that if a person does not stand up for national anthem, then he is “less patriotic”. Observing that the society did not need “moral policing”, a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra said the next time, “the government will want people to stop wearing T-shirts and shorts to cinemas saying this would disrespect the national anthem.”
It said it will not allow the government to “shoot from its shoulder” and asked it to take a call either way on the issue of regulating the playing the anthem.
The bench also indicated that it may modify its order of December 1, 2016, by which the playing of the anthem was made mandatory in the movie halls before the screening of a film, and it may replace the word “shall” with “may”.
“People go to cinema halls for undiluted entertainment. Society needs entertainment. We cannot allow you (Centre) to shoot from our shoulders. People do not need to stand up in cinema halls to prove their patriotism,” the bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said.
“Desireability is one thing but making it mandatory is another. Citizens cannot be forced to carry patriotism on their sleeves and courts cannot inculcate patriotism among people through its order,” the bench said.
The court’s strong remarks came during the hearing on a PIL filed last year by one Shyam Narayan Chouksey seeking directions that the national anthem should be played in all the cinema halls before a film begins.
On December 1, 2016, the SC had ordered that to instill “committed patriotism and nationalism all the cinema halls in India shall play the national anthem before the feature film starts and all present in the hall are obliged to stand up to show respect to the national anthem” as a part of their “sacred obligation”.
Attorney General K K Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, said India was a diverse country and the National Anthem need to be played in cinema halls to bring in uniformity.
Last year, the SC had said that “love and respect for the motherland are reflected when one shows respect to the national anthem as well as to the national flag”, even though it did not lay down any punishment for violation of its order.
The court had also barred printing of the anthem or a part of it on any object and displaying it in such a manner at places that might be “disgraceful to its status and tantamount to disrespect”.
