SC refuses to entertain 'premature' plea on Vande Mataram advisory

The Supreme Court refused to entertain a plea against an MHA advisory standardising the Vande Mataram protocol, calling the petition 'premature' as the circular carries no penal consequences. Muslim organisations have opposed the directive.

Supreme Court Dismisses Plea

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a plea against the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) advisory circular issued January 28 to standardise the protocol for India's National Song, Vande Mataram. A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, stated that the petition was filed in a premature manner and noted that the Circular on Vande Mataram has no penal consequences.

"Does the January 28 notification lead to penal consequences? Is the person removed from the congregation if they don't sing the song? Your petition is based on premature apprehension; if there is any penal consequence, you may come to us. This is just a vague apprehension of discrimination which may not have nexus with the impugned directive", the Court observed during the hearing. The Court dismissed the plea by observing that it is not inclined to entertain the same as it has been filed prematurely.

MHA's Vande Mataram Directive

This comes after the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had earlier released detailed guidelines for the national song Vande Mataram, stating that when both the National Song and the National Anthem are performed at an event, all six stanzas of the official version of Vande Mataram must be presented first. Some have objected to singing all six stanzas of Vande Matram and prefer to sing the first two stanzas, which were adopted as the national song by the Constituent Assembly in 1950.

Muslim Bodies Oppose Directive

Meanwhile, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board on Thursday demanded the withdrawal of the Ministry of Home Affairs' notification mandating the playing of all six stanzas of Vande Mataram before the national anthem at official events. In a press statement, the Board's General Secretary, Maulana Mohammed Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi, expressed strong opposition to the government's decision, calling it unconstitutional, against religious freedom and secular values, contrary to the Supreme Court judgment, and directly conflicting with the religious beliefs of Muslims. He stated that the decision is therefore completely unacceptable to Muslims.

The Maulana noted that, following Rabindranath Tagore's advice and deliberations in the Constituent Assembly, it had been agreed that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram would be used. Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind President Maulana Arshad Madani also criticised the Union government's directive to play all six stanzas of Vande Mataram before the national anthem at official events, calling it a "blatant attack on freedom of religion". (ANI)

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