Mumbai Court Rules West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's Recitation Part Of National Anthem Cannot Invite Criminal Prosecution

Mumbai: The Metropolitan Magistrate's court, while dismissing the complaint against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday, held that reciting a certain part of the national anthem cannot invite criminal prosecution. The court determined that Banerjee was not singing the national anthem but rather reciting a few lines.

The Metropolitan Magistrate, SB Kale, based in Mazgaon, had dismissed the complaint filed by Vivekanand Gupta, a member of the BJP, against Banerjee. The court stated, "After watching the portion of the video with a duration of 17 to 19 seconds, I find that at the relevant time, the accused is seen reciting some words from the national anthem. The video does not disclose that the accused was singing the national anthem or ever tried to sing the national anthem at the relevant time."

'Singing and reciting are two different things'

The court emphasised the difference between singing and reciting the national anthem. It clarified, "'Singing' the national anthem and 'reciting' certain words or lines out of it are two different things. They cannot be equated with each other. Otherwise, a person like a teacher or speaker explaining the national anthem to their audience would be held responsible for disrespecting the national anthem. It was not and will not be the intention of the legislation to prosecute such a person."

Furthermore, the court noted that in the video, Banerjee was seen reciting a few lines but not singing the national anthem at the stage. The court added, "There is no material produced on record by the complainant to show in which context the accused recited those lines of the National Anthem at the relevant time."

Banerjee sang incomplete version of national anthem, Gupta alleged

Gupta had claimed that when the national anthem was played at the venue on December 1, 2021, Banerjee was seen reciting the first two paragraphs of the anthem while sitting in a chair. She later stood up and sang the next two paragraphs but stopped abruptly and left the venue. Gupta asserted that Banerjee sang only an incomplete version of the national anthem.

However, the court rejected his claim, stating that the complainant failed to produce the entire video of the event to prove that Banerjee left the venue when the anthem was being played. The court pointed out that Gupta only provided a news reel containing video footage of the event for 17 to 19 seconds, with the rest described by the news reporter.

The court concluded that there were insufficient grounds to proceed against Banerjee.