Karnataka HC Pauses Vande Mataram Plea, Awaits Supreme Court Ruling

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday postponed further proceedings on a public interest litigation challenging the State government's decision to permit only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram at official functions. A Division Bench of Justices Anu Sivaraman and T.P. Vivekananda adjourned the matter by three weeks, citing a pending Supreme Court case concerning norms that require all six stanzas to be sung and treat obstruction of the song's rendition as a punishable offence.

The petition, filed by city-based advocate Girish Bharadwaj, targets a notification issued on September 8 by the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms. The order restricts the singing of the national song to its first two stanzas at State government programmes, except those attended by the President, Vice-President, Prime Minister or Governor.

The petitioner's primary contention is that the State lacks both legislative and executive authority to prescribe the content of a national symbol or song, as the subject falls within the exclusive domain of the Union government.

Counsel for the petitioner, Angad Kamath, argued that no department had submitted a formal note for discussion on Vande Mataram, which appeared as Item No. 37 on the agenda of the Cabinet meeting held on September 3. He submitted that the decision was taken suo motu under the heading "informal discussion", without any Cabinet note or legal consultation, while all other 36 items had been placed before the Cabinet through formal notes. Consequently, he argued, the decision could not be construed as a Cabinet decision within the meaning of the Karnataka Government (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1977.

The petition further claimed that the September 8 notification contained an internal contradiction, as it purported to ensure "uniformity, dignity and due observance of appropriate protocol" while creating a State-specific variation by restricting the rendition to only two stanzas.

Advocate General K. Shashi Kiran Shetty told the court that the Centre had itself informed the Supreme Court and the High Court earlier this year that singing the national song is "not mandatory". He also noted that the apex court is hearing a fresh plea challenging the penal provisions relating to insulting the national song and other related issues, and has granted the Centre two weeks to respond.

The petitioner's counsel clarified that the plea does not seek to compel any individual to sing the song, in view of the Supreme Court's ruling in Bijoe Emmanuel v. State of Kerala, but challenges the State's practice of playing a truncated version at official functions.

Additional Solicitor General of India K. Arvind Kamath supported the petitioner, stating that the Centre's order on the national song lays down clear norms on when it must be sung and when it is optional. However, whenever it is sung, it must be rendered in its official version containing all six stanzas, the ASG told the court.