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Rejected Plea: Declaration of Vande Mataram as National Song
In a recent development, the High Court of Delhi rejected a plea that sought to have "Vande Mataram" declared as the National Song.
The said plea was filed by Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay (a lawyer and a BJP pleader) who in response to the bench's indication that the "Vande Mataram" (authored by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee) was in fact the national song, claimed: "It is not the national song and my prayer is that either it be treated as the national anthem or the national song by way of notification". It was argued that Vande Mataram must be given equal importance and status as the national anthem - "Jana Gana Mana" (by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore). A further direction was sought to ensure that both the songs were sung at all schools and other institutions.
The bench comprising - Justice C Hari Shankar and Chief Justice DN Patel while adddressing the issue opined that the claims incorporated in the petition were not convinving enough to be admitted under Article 226 of the Constitution of India in the form of a writ petition before a High Court. The judges opined: "We see no reason to give direction to the respondent (Centre) to declare Vande Mataram as national anthem or national song,"
