The Ernakulam Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate will pronounce its order on the discharge petition by Union Minister Shashi Tharoor on the national anthem case on June 20. Additional Chief Magistrate M Manoj completed the final hearing in the case on Thursday.
In the final hearing of the case, Tharoor’s counsel Suraj Krishna B S and P S Viju submitted that the allegation against the petitioner is for intentional prevention of singing the national anthem under Section 245(1)(2) of CrPC and the charges do not withstand. The charges on offence under Section 3 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, also do not withstand against the petitioner in the case, they said.
As per the complaint, Tharoor had disrespected the national anthem at a function in Kochi on December 16, 2008.
The allegation was that he had asked the audience at the meeting to sing the anthem while placing the right hand on the left side of the chest as Americans do, instead of standing in attention position.
According to counsel, it might be noticed by the court that the complete national anthem was sung by the assembly with full commitment and fervour.
No charge, therefore, for prevention of singing the national anthem will lie on the admitted facts. There are no allegation in the complaint or evidence that there was an intentional disturbance of the assembly engaged in singing the anthem, Tharoor’s counsel said.