The Hindu : National : Court rejects review of National Anthem order

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Wednesday, Aug 31, 2005

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Court rejects review of National Anthem order

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a petition seeking review of the May 13 judgment holding that the `National Anthem' of the country being an immortal classic was not subject to any change.

The apex court had dismissed a petition filed by Sanjeev Bhatnagar seeking deletion of the word "Sindh" from the National Anthem on the ground that it had become part of the territory of Pakistan. A Bench of the Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti and Justice P.K. Balasubramanyan dismissed the review petition observing that it had no merits.

In May, the court rejecting the petition described it as "publicity interest litigation" and imposed a cost of Rs. 10,000 on him for wasting the valuable time of the court.

The court had said, "National Anthem is the representative of the ethos of the country. Any classic, once created, becomes immortal and inalienable; even its creator may not like making changes into it. Any tampering with the script of the poem would be showing disrespect to the great poet Rabindranath Tagore."

The court said a national anthem was a hymn or a song expressing patriotic sentiments or feelings. "It is not a chronicle which defines the territory of the nation which has adopted the anthem. The national anthem does not enlist the States or regional areas, which were part of India at the point of time when Tagore wrote the anthem," the Bench said.

The court said the hue and cry raised over the issue by the petitioner did not amount to raising of any constitutional issue nor referred to any breach of his fundamental right. It was of the view that the petition was devoid of merit and should never have been filed in the guise of public interest. "It is more of a publicity interest litigation wherein the petitioner seems to have achieved his purpose," it said and dismissed it with costs.

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