SANJEEV BHATNAGAR versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.

Citation: [2005] SUPP. 1 S.C.R. 371 · Decided: 13-05-2005 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: R.C. LAHOTI · Disposal: Dismissed

Judgment (excerpt)

,, 
SANJEEV BHATNAGAR 
A 
v. 
UNION OF INDIA AND ORS. 
MAY 13, 2005 
[R.C. LAHOTI, CJ. AND P.K. BALASUBRAMANY AN, J.] 
B 
I 
Constitution of India 1950-Artic/e 32-Public Interest Litigation-
Seeking deletion of word 'Sindh' from the Natiokal Anthem as 'Sindh' no 
I 
longer part of India post partition-Held: NationaltAnthem is song expressing 
patriotic feelings and not a chronicle defining te;riiory of nation which has C 
adopted the anthem-'Sindh' is not just a geogrJphical region, it refers to 
place and to its people spread throughout the country-Further, issue raised 
neither constitutional nor there is enforcement of ahy fundamental right-A/so 
' 
petition not in public interest-Hence, petition rejected-Article 5/A. 
j ,! 
The question which arose for consideration in this writ petition was D 
whether the text of National Anthem could be rectified and the word 
'Sindh' be deleted therefrom since the geographical region 'Sindh' does 
not form part of India post partition. 
; 
I I 
Dismissing the Writ Petition, the Court••. 
I 
HELD: 1.1. A National Anthem is a hymn or song expressing 
patriotic sentiments or feelings. It is not a ch
1ronicle which defines the 
territory of the nation which has adopted the· anthem. A few things such 
E 
as - a National Flag, a National Song, a Natio~al Emblem and so on, are 
symbolic of our national honour and heritage .. The National Anthem did 
not, and do~s not, enlist the states or regional areas which were part of F 
India at the point of time when it was written\ nor is it necessary that the 
structure of the National Anthem should go o'ii changing as and when the 
territories or the internal distribution of geographical regions and 
provinces undergoes changes. Recently Uttaranchal, Chhattisgarh and 
Jharkhand have been carved out by reorganizing certain states but that G 
does not mean that the National Anthem should be enlarged, re-written 
or modified to include the names of these new states. (377-C-D, D-E, E-F) 
1.2. The National· Anthem is our patriotic salutation to our 
motherland, nestling between the Himalyas and the oceans and the seas 
371 
H 
372 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2005] SUPP. I S.C.R. 
A surrounding her. The mention of a few names therein is symbolic of our 
recollection of the glorious heritage of India. 'Sindh' is not just a 
geographical region. It refers to the place and to its people. Sindhis are 
spread throughout the country and they derive their such name as having 
originated and migrated from Sindh. 'Sindh' also refers to the river 
'Sindhu 'or 'Indus'. It also refers to a culture, one of the oldest in the world 
B and even modern India feels proud of its having inherited the Indus Valley 
Civilisation as an inalienable part of its heritage. River Indus (Sindhu) finds 
numerous references in the Indian Classical Literature including Rig Veda. 
[377-E-F-G) 
C 
1.3. The National Anthem is the poem written by Rabindranath 
Tagore. He himself had said that the five stanzas in which the poem was 
written is addressed to c'od. The poem is a reflection of the real India as 
a country - a confluence of many religions, rates, communities and 
geographical entities. It is a message of unity in diVersity. It is a patriotic 
D 
E 
F 
song. It has since the jldecades inspired niany by arousing their patriotic 
.. 
' 
sentiments when sung).IJ. ~~ythm. It is. the,repres~ntativ~ of the ethos of 
the country. Any classic, o·nce.created, becomes immortal and inalienable; 
even its creator may not fed:l!ke making any change in it~ A~y t~mperi~g 
with the script of the poem would be showing.disrespect to the great poet-
Rabindranath Tagore. [377-G-H; 378-A-B) 
. ' 
. 
. . 
I 
, 
' . 
. 1.4. The iss~e raised does not amount to raising ar_iy constitutional 
issue o,r ca,nvassing a~y"fundarriental.right for, the enforcement of which 
. 
' , 
~' • • 
~ 
"Ii',:--
• 
I 
,.f 
! ~ 
the jurisdiction of this Court under Article 32 of the Constitution can be 
• 
~' 
,,-· 
' 
.. -;., 
F 
.' 
' 
I 
invoked. The petition is ·not in public interest but more of the publicity 
. 
. - -... 
.. 
-· 
-,, 
,. 
. 
interest litigation. It is a"petition which should never have been filed. 
• • 
• 
I'.. 
'· 
f 
· 
' 
.~ _.,,.; 
. 
. [378-B-C; 380-D-E) 
'Indian National AYfthem' by Prab'odhchandrci Sen Vishvi:I Bharti, 
Calcutta May 1945, refer~ed fo. 
· 
1 
· 
1 
··l :. 
. ' •. 
' 
i. 
2. The Preventipn.{1f Insults to National· Honour Act, 1971 enacted 
G by the Parliament makes it an offen

Excerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.