Lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay recently moved the Delhi high court, seeking a direction from the Centre and the Delhi government to ensure that Jana Gana Mana and Vande Mataram are played and sung in all schools and educational institutions on every working day. He contended that in the absence of guidelines/regulations to honour the national song, Vande Mataram, it was being sung in an “uncivilised manner” and misused in films and parties.
The ministry of home affairs, in a short counter-affidavit, said that both, the national anthem and the national song, had their sanctity and deserved equal respect. It added that the subject matter of the present proceedings could never seek a writ of the high court, more particularly in view of the settled position.