Supreme Court expects no criminal action against those refusing Vande Mataram on religious grounds, amid protests by Naga groups
DIMAPUR — The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that people who respectfully refuse to sing Vande Mataram because of their religious beliefs or personal conscience should not face criminal action.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana made the oral observation while hearing a petition challenging the constitutional validity of the 2026 amendment to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.
The petition also challenges directions issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs requiring the complete six-stanza version of Vande Mataram to be sung at certain official functions.
Justice Bagchi said that the principles laid down by the Supreme Court in its 1986 judgement in Bijoe Emmanuel v. State of Kerala should apply to the amended law. In that case, the court protected three schoolchildren who stood respectfully during the National Anthem but did not sing it because doing so conflicted with their religious beliefs.
The Bench clarified that the court was not deciding what should be recognised as the National Song, or whether two or all six stanzas should be sung. Those were matters for the elected government to decide, it added.
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The court’s focus, it stated, was whether a person who objects on grounds of conscience, or believes that singing the song would violate their religious rights under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, could be punished.
Tuesday’s observation by the apex court assumes significance in Nagaland, where the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF), tribal organisations and Christian groups have been protesting against the compulsory playing or singing of Vande Mataram. They have cited freedom of conscience and religious sensitivities.
The NSF organised a mass rally in Kohima on August 31 and submitted a representation to President Droupadi Murmu, seeking the withdrawal of the directive.
It later urged Nagaland government to initiate a discussion in the Legislative Assembly and adopt a resolution opposing the compulsory singing, playing or promotion of Vande Mataram at government programmes and official functions.
The issue also led to protests outside the Nagaland Assembly earlier this month. The NSF called on the House to pass a resolution opposing the singing or playing of the revised version of Vande Mataram at official and private events in the state.
The Nagaland Tribal Hohos Coordination Committee, which represents eight major tribal organisations, had opposed the Centre’s directive as early as March. It urged the Assembly to consider Nagaland’s special constitutional safeguards under Article 371A, as well as the state’s religious and social context.
The Nagaland Joint Christian Forum also listed the Vande Mataram directive among the issues raised in a nine-point representation submitted to the President after its September 12 rally for religious freedom.
The case before the Supreme Court was filed by Carnatic musician TM Krishna. He has challenged amended Section 3 of the 1971 Act, as well as the MHA directions.
The amended provision prescribes up to three years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both for anyone who intentionally prevents the singing of the National Anthem or National Song, or disrupts an assembly engaged in singing either of them.
Krishna’s petition argues that the amended penal provision, read together with the MHA directions, effectively forces people to sing all six stanzas of Vande Mataram.
It also challenges the absence of an express safeguard for conscientious objectors and relies on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bijoe Emmanuel.
The court has now sought response from the Union government while making the oral observation.
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