CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation petition seeking to quash the Ministry of Home Affairs' January 2026 circular on prioritising national song 'Vande Maataram' in government events. The court found the petition has become infructuous with the clarifications issued by the Centre, and the state government issuing a G.O. on placing the state song 'Tamil Thai Vaazhthu' first in official functions.
The first bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan said, "As the grievances aired through this petition have fully been addressed by these administrative updates, no further issue remains for judicial determination. The prayer made in the petition has become infructuous."
It pointed to the submissions of senior standing counsel for the Centre, A Kumaraguru, that the Centre issued a clarification on July 9, 2026, that whenever a state song is rendered with the national song Vande Maataram, the national anthem Jana Gana Mana should precede it.
He added the individual states retain full discretion to decide when to render their state song and may place it at any point in the programme, the bench noted in the order passed on Tuesday.
Moreover, it said it is brought to the notice of the court that the state government issued a G.O. dated August 12, 2026, which explicitly refers to the Centre's revised circular and confirms that 'Tamil Thai Vaazthu' shall continue to be sung at the beginning of the programmes across educational institutions, universities, government offices and public sector undertakings in the state.
"The revised circular leaves the placement and performance of the state song to the discretion of the state government. The TN government has formally reaffirmed that Tamil Thai Vaazhthu will be sung at the commencement of official functions," the bench noted in the order.
