BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court deferred the hearing of a PIL filed by a Bengaluru-based advocate challenging the State Government’s decision to sing only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram in all State Government programmes, except those attended by the President, Vice-President, Prime Minister or Governor.
A division bench of Justices Anu Sivaraman and TP Vivekananda adjourned the hearing to October 15 after Advocate General K Shashikiran Shetty informed the court that a similar matter is pending before the Supreme Court regarding the penal consequences for not singing the contested stanzas.
He justified the state’s decision, contending that there is no mandate to sing the national song, referring to communication from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The petitioner, Girish Bharadwaj, challenged the cabinet decision of September 3 and subsequent order on September 8 passed by the State Government on the issue.
The order was issued on a decision taken as an “Informal Discussion”, without a Cabinet Note, without a sponsoring department and without the advice of the Law Department, he said.
The national song is not a matter enumerated in List II or List III of the Seventh Schedule; it is within the exclusive competence of Parliament under Entry 97 of List I read with Article 248, and the executive power of the State under Article 162 does not reach it, he stated.
The order further breaches Articles 256 and 257(1), which require the state to exercise its executive power so as to ensure compliance with the laws made by Parliament and not to impede the executive power of the The state shall not direct that the song prescribed by the Union be cut short, the petitioner stated.
The Centre contended that the State Government cannot decide the content of the national song as Parliament amended the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 to extend statutory protection to Vande Mataram.
