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Supreme Court Orders Centre Response on Vande Mataram Law

By Drooid · Sep 22, 2026, 10:20 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, asked the Centre to respond to TM Krishna’s petition.
The petition seeks to strike down Section 3, which imposes up to three years’ imprisonment for preventing the national song.
Krishna argues the last four stanzas of Vande Mataram invoke Hindu deities, violating secularism and freedom of conscience.
The bench will examine punishability of non-singing, referencing the 1986 Bijoe Emmanuel ruling, and will not decide stanza count now.

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Story summary

Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, asked the Centre to respond to TM Krishna’s petition.
The petition seeks to strike down Section 3, which imposes up to three years’ imprisonment for preventing the national song.
Krishna argues the last four stanzas of Vande Mataram invoke Hindu deities, violating secularism and freedom of conscience.
The bench will examine punishability of non-singing, referencing the 1986 Bijoe Emmanuel ruling, and will not decide stanza count now.