Legal experts say it isn’t mandatory to ‘stand’ when national anthem is played although in respect one is expected to.
By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net
Mumbai : For a Mumbai based Muslim family who had gone to watch Ranbir-Deepaka’s ‘Tamasha’ at PVR Cinema at Kurla’s Phoenix Market City turned out to be a nightmare for them when they were forced to leave after the crowd accused the man of disrespecting the national anthem by not standing up.
The video of incident purportedly showing a family being asked to leave theatre for not standing during national anthem has taken social networking websites and other messaging platforms by storm.
A video which has gone viral shows a man initially saying that he didn’t want to stand and later goes on to explain that he has a knee problem. Other family members tried to defend themselves from the crowd, but to no avail. The bitter verbal altercation leads to some theatre official asking the family to leave, following which the audience breaks out in applause.
In the video titled ‘Muslim family thrown out of the cinema hall’ showed people threatening the family and the hall erupting in applause when they were asked to leave – sparking strong reactions on social networking with people divided over the issue.
According to order of Maharashtra Government, it is mandatory for all cinemas to play the National Anthem before every film.
The issue has ensued a debate whether it is mandatory for people to stand during the National anthem with legal experts putting up their legal view that it isn’t law bound to stand when national anthem is playing.
“Section 3 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 states that whoever intentionally prevents the singing of the National Anthem or causes disturbances to any assembly engaged in such singing shall be punished… A logical interpretation of this Section implies that only those who “intentionally prevent” or “cause disturbance” to the singing of the National Anthem are liable to be prosecuted under the Act. The law nowhere mentions about ‘sitting’ or ‘standing’ while the National Anthem is playing and does not prescribe any punishment for not standing,” Raies ul Haq Ahmad Sikander, Lawyer at High Court of Delhi told TwoCircles.net.
“If one goes through the facts of the cases where people have been arrested for not standing for the National Anthem, one finds that these people had indulged in some overt acts like booing and making disrespectful gestures while National Anthem was being played. So the fact that one stands up for National Anthem or not is inconsequential,” Raies ul Haq added.
In 2005, a court while dismissing a petition filed against then Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi and then Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav for remaining seated during the rendition of the National Anthem at a function had ruled that not standing at attention during the National Anthem is not prima facie a crime.
“It is the moral duty of a person to stand in the attention position when the National Anthem is played but if they do not do so, then, prima facie it is not a crime under the 1971 Act, and, under the 2002 National Flag Code, no mention of any crime is stated if a person is not standing at attention,” the court had then ruled.