New Delhi/Alive News: The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought responses from the Centre and other parties on fresh petitions challenging directions concerning the singing of all six stanzas of the national song, Vande Mataram. The court scheduled the next hearing for November 30.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana issued notices on petitions filed by Bhimrao Duryodhan Borkar and former IAS officer Balakrishnan Sathyabhama Mavoji. The pleas have been tagged with similar petitions already pending before the court.
The petitioners have challenged Ministry of Home Affairs orders dated January 28 and July 9, 2026, arguing that the directions depart from the long-standing practice of singing the first two stanzas of the national song.
Borkar has contended that the complete six-stanza version, drawn from Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Anandamath, contains religious references that raise concerns about secularism and religious freedom. Mavoji has argued that prescribing the full version could undermine India’s secular character.
The petitions come after a September 22 hearing in which the Supreme Court emphasised that people who conscientiously object to singing Vande Mataram should not face punishment for their refusal.
The bench referred to the principles established in the 1986 judgment in Bijoe Emmanuel vs State of Kerala, which protected students who respectfully declined to sing the national anthem on grounds of conscience.
The court had made the observations while hearing a separate petition filed by Carnatic vocalist T. M. Krishna, who challenged the requirement to sing all six stanzas.
The latest proceedings will examine the government’s directions in the context of secularism, religious freedom and the right to conscientious objection.
