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National Anthem to be played in every cinema halls before a movie begins: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has clearly stated that everyone in the cinema hall must stand when the national anthem is played.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered that the national anthem will be played in cinema halls across the nations before the movie begins, asserting that the shorter versions of the national anthem will not be allowed.

The national flag will also be displayed on the screen. The Centre has agreed to distribute the order to all States’ Chief Secretaries and also to publish it on print and electronic mediums.

The Supreme Court further made it clear that every person present in the cinema hall must rise and pay respect to the National Anthem.

SC said that the National Anthem should not be dramatised or commercially exploited: Abhinav Srivastav, Legal Counsel for Petitioner pic.twitter.com/o0qj6qvbIN

— ANI (@ANI_news) November 30, 2016

The directive came in response to PIL filed by Shyam Narayan Chouksey seeking directions for playing the national anthem in cinema halls before a movie begins. The plea had also mentioned a number of suggestions to avoid the disrespect of the national anthem including strict guidelines of no commercial exploitation to gain financial benefit of any kind. The PIL had also stated that there no should no “dramatisation” of the national anthem.

The Supreme Court had also asked the central government to mention the norms and specify the guidelines to avoid disrespect and abuse to the national anthem.