Delhi man uses national flag to clean scooter; arrested after video goes viral

A 52-year-old man in Delhi has been arrested by Delhi Police after a video of him using national flag to clean his two-wheeler went viral on social media.

The incident took place in northeast Delhi's Bhajanpura area. The man is a resident of North Ghonda area.

The matter came to the fore after a purported video of the incident, shot by locals, was uploaded on social media. In the said video, the person is seen cleaning and dusting his white scooter with the national flag that is folded.


"In this matter, legal action has been initiated and a case has been registered under section 2 of Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act, 1971 at Bhajanpura police station," a senior police officer said.

The flag used by the person and his scooty have also been recovered, he said.

“The accused has been asked to join the investigation. He said it wasn't deliberate and he did it by mistake. We are still asking him to join the probe and attend the court hearings when called,” the officer said.


This is not the first time though that such incident of disrespecting the tricolour has come to the light.

Earlier in April this year, a 42-year-old Dehradun person was arrested for using the tricolour to clean bicycles.

India has a rule for hoisting and displaying the flag - the Flag Code of India 2002.. And according to Section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, “whoever in any public place or in any other place within public view burns, mutilates, defaces, defiles, disfigures, destroys, tramples upon or otherwise brings into contempt (whether by words, either spoken or written, or by acts) the Indian National Flag….shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with a fine, or with both”.