Supreme Court today declined to entertain a plea to make the National Anthem mandatory in all courts in India before the court work starts, in the absence of a proper petition is filed in this regard. A bench headed by Justices Dipak Misra was requested today (2 December 2016) to make the National Anthem mandatory in all courts in India. Since there was no proper petition filed in this regard, the court asked the lawyer to file a proper petition. The court also asked the Attorney General for India Mukul Rohatgi to assist in the matter.
This plea came in the background of an order dated 30 November 2016 issued by the Supreme Court wherein playing of National Anthem was made mandatory in all cinema halls in the country before a movie begins [see: National Anthem to be played in all cinema halls before feature film, says SC].
It is noteworthy that after the above order of the Supreme Court, there have been widespread reactions all over the country – some positive and some negative. There have been demands that playing of National Anthem should be made compulsory also in courts, Parliament, and other places. In fact, some people, including some lawyers, have been asking on social media that the Supreme Court should first make National Anthem compulsory in courts, then it should think of making it compulsory in other places such as cinema halls.
