Can You Be Punished for Not Singing Vande Mataram? What the Supreme Court Said

A fresh constitutional debate has emerged over Vande Mataram after the Supreme Court indicated that people who refuse to sing the National Song because of conscience or religious belief should not face criminal punishment. The observation came on September 22 while the court heard a petition filed by Carnatic vocalist T. M. Krishna challenging the 2026 changes to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act and government directions concerning the complete six-stanza version of the song.

The key issue before the court is not whether Vande Mataram is the National Song. The bench said that determining the form and content of the National Song is for the democratic state. Instead, the court is examining whether a person can face criminal consequences for choosing not to sing it. The bench referred to the landmark 1986 Bijoe Emmanuel judgment, in which the Supreme Court protected schoolchildren who respectfully declined to sing the National Anthem on grounds of conscience.

The 2026 amendment extended penal protection to the National Song. It provides for imprisonment of up to three years, a fine, or both for intentionally preventing the singing of the National Anthem or National Song or causing disturbance to an assembly engaged in such singing. Krishna's petition challenges how these provisions apply to refusal to sing.

The Supreme Court has sought the Centre's response and has not yet delivered a final ruling on the constitutional challenge. The hearing therefore raises a broader question: how should respect for national symbols be balanced with freedom of conscience and religion?