Calcutta High Court stays FIR against 10 BJP MLAs booked for insulting National Anthem

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday stayed the First Information Report (FIR) lodged against ten Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) booked for insulting the National Anthem [Sankar Ghosh vs State of West Bengal]. .During a recent assembly session, the ruling Trinamool Congress had staged a Dharna opposing the Central government's move to withhold the States 'rightful dues.'Even the BJP MLAs were staging a protest in the assembly premises. During this face-off, the ruling dispensation started singing the National Anthem and the BJP MLAs kept shouting slogans against the TMC. This, the State contended, was an insult to the National Anthem as the BJP legislators did not stand up for the same but were instead busy in sloganeering.Single-judge Justice Jay Sengupta opined that whether the National Anthem should be sung amidst dharna is a 'debatable issue.'"It is debatable whether in the midst of slogan shouting by either of the groups, singing of the National Anthem was in conformity with the decorum as expected in the Order pertaining to the use of National Anthem and the Special Act. It appears that the two gatherings were at some distance of each other and the gathering of the petitioners' was behind two big pillars/gate," the judge said in his order.He further noted that the two different groups were demonstrating regarding two different issues at some distance (within the assembly premises)."Therefore, it is also to be decided whether the norms set by and requirements of one gathering would automatically bind those in the other gathering," the judge underlined. .The ten MLAs have been booked under charges of wrongful restraint (section 341 of IPC) and relevant provisions of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 for insulting the National Anthem. The FIR was lodged on a complaint filed by the TMC members alleging that while they were singing the National Anthem in the State Assembly premises on November 29, the BJP legislators did not stand up for the same.The complaint alleged that the opposition legislators wrongly confined the ruling dispensation including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the assembly premises. .In the petition, through advocate Rajdeep Mazumdar, the MLAs contended that singing National Anthem in such a gathering was indeed indecorous as the adverse side (BJP) was shouting slogans nearby. "Singing the National Anthem in such a gathering itself was a violation of the Order relating to National Anthem of India and thus becomes punishable under the Special Act. The gathering of the petitioner's was totally a different one meant for a different purpose and the participants had already started their activities," Mazumdar argued. The advocate further pointed out that the National Anthem being sung by the ruling legislators was hardly audible to the opposition group. "Singing of the National Anthem cannot be used as a ploy to deter the petitioners from continuing with such activities or to put them in further peril of getting penalised under the Special Act," the advocate argued further. On the other hand, senior advocate Kishore Dutta appearing for the State, apprised the bench of the fact that the prosecution has already recorded statements of the witnesses in the case. He added that the petitioners failed to plead malafide on part of the State. .Having heard the contentions, the bench opined that it will have to hear the case at length and therefore, stayed the proceedings till January 17, 2024. It will hear the case next January 10, 2024..[Read Order]