HC dismisses plea against stopping of national anthem

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court (HC) on Wednesday disposed off a writ petition alleging that Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik had stopped the national anthem mid-way.

At the swearing-in ceremony of new ministers at the Raj Bhawan here last week, Naik stopped the national anthem and went ahead with administering the 'oath of unity' taken on the birth anniversary of India's first deputy prime minister Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel.

While the Raj Bhawan soon after issued a clarification that the governor did not know that the anthem had begun, a lawyer Vinod Kumar had brought the matter before the HC.

The bench of chief justice D.Y. Chandrachud and justice S.N. Shukla dismissed the petitioner's request of making the principal secretary to the governor the opposite party as "unconstitutional and unnecessary".

The HC said that if the petitioner wanted he could ask the state government to issue directions and guidelines of conduct during the playing of the national anthem.

Naik's action on October 31 created a furore with opposition parties and the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) raking up the issue against the governor and calling it an insult to the national anthem.