Court case(2018) 2 SCC 574

Chouksey, a retired engineer from Bhopal, filed a PIL under Article 32 seeking directions to ensure respect for the National Anthem, relying on Article 51A(a) and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act 1971. By an interim order of 30 November 2016 the Court directed that every cinema hall must play the Anthem before the film, with the National Flag on screen, and that all present must stand, exempting the differently abled. The order provoked incidents of audiences being harassed, and the Union set up an inter-ministerial committee to frame guidelines.

By the final order of 9 January 2018 the Court modified its interim direction: playing the Anthem in cinema halls is now optional ("may" instead of "shall"), though if it is played the audience is bound to show respect by standing, with exemptions for the disabled. The Court left the broader regulation of the Anthem to the Government's committee and the 1971 Act and the Orders relating to the Anthem. The direction prohibiting commercial exploitation and dramatisation of the Anthem continued.