High Court declines to provide Mamata Banerjee with any relief in the national anthem case

Mamata Banerjee’s request to overturn a session court order from January 2023 sending the case back to the magistrate’s court for investigation and on the issue of summons issuance was denied by a single bench of Justice Amit Borkar.

Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, was denied relief by the Bombay High Court today in response to a complaint that sought to hold her accountable for allegedly disrespecting the national anthem at a local event in 2022.

Mamata Banerjee’s request to overturn a session court order from January 2023 sending the case back to the magistrate’s court for investigation and on the issue of summons issuance was denied by a single bench of Justice Amit Borkar.

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In her application, Ms. Banerjee argued that the sessions court should have dismissed the entire complaint rather than just the summons and remanded the case.However, Justice Borkar pointed out that the order from the sessions court was unlawful, so the HC did not need to get involved.

On the basis of a complaint made by activist Vivekanand Gupta, a magistrate’s court summoned Mamata Banerjee in March 2022. Vivekanand Gupta claimed that Mamata Banerjee had started singing the National Anthem while seated during a public event at the Yashwantrao Chavan Auditorium in Cuffe Parade, Mumbai, and later stood up and sang two verses before abruptly stopping and leaving the location.

Before the special court, the West Bengal Chief Minister had contested the summons.On the basis of procedural issues, Special Judge RN Rokade annulled the summons the magistrate had issued in January 2023 and requested that the magistrate reexamine the complaint.

Ms. Banerjee contested this order in her application to the high court, arguing that the summons should have been quashed instead of ordering the magistrate to reexamine it.In his complaint, Mr Gupta claimed that Mamata Banerjee’s actions amounted to an insult and disrespect to the national anthem, and thus they violated the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act of 1971.

He had filed a complaint at the Cuffe Parade police station, but after the police failed to take action, he went to the court of the metropolitan magistrate.