A Mumbai court has provided a nuanced interpretation of respect for the national anthem, leading to the dismissal of a complaint against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The court differentiated between the acts of singing the national anthem and merely reciting parts of it, a distinction that played a pivotal role in the case brought forth by BJP worker Vivekanand Gupta.
Gupta’s complaint was rooted in an incident from December 2021, during Banerjee’s visit to Mumbai. He alleged that the Chief Minister had disrespected the national anthem by remaining seated while it played, standing up to sing two verses, and then abruptly stopping. A 19-second video clip of the event was submitted as evidence, which Gupta claimed showed Banerjee as the main speaker at a program convened by writer-poet Javed Akhtar.
However, upon reviewing the footage, Magistrate SB Kale observed that Banerjee was
“reciting some words out of the national anthem,”
not singing it. The magistrate emphasized that these two actions
“cannot be equated with each other,”
pointing out that such an equivalence would implicate anyone explaining or teaching the anthem. The court found no evidence in the video that Banerjee was singing the anthem, had tried to sing it, or that she had left the venue abruptly after stopping the anthem.
This ruling underscores the legal perspective that recitation of the anthem, perhaps for emphasis or instruction, does not equate to a performance of the anthem, which carries specific protocols of respect and decorum. The court’s decision effectively exonerates Banerjee from the accusations of disrespect, highlighting the importance of context and intent in matters of national symbols and their protocols.
The case against Banerjee has been a flashpoint in the ongoing political discourse, with this court ruling potentially setting a precedent for how actions during the national anthem are interpreted legally. The dismissal of the complaint reaffirms the judiciary’s role in discerning the nuances of respect for national symbols, a subject that often intersects with political and social sentiments.
