Mumbai Court summons West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee for allegedly disrespecting the national anthem

A Mumbai Court has issued a summon to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday and directed her to appear before it on March 2 for allegedly disrespecting the national anthem. The Chief Minister had allegedly not stood up when the national anthem was played at the event during her visit to Mumbai in December 2021.

The Court order noted that though Mamata Banerjee is a Chief Minister, "a sanction is not required and there is no bar to proceed against the accused" as she was not discharging her official duty in Mumbai. "Though the accused is the chief minister of West Bengal, she was not discharging her official duties (during the event in Mumbai). Thereby, this act of the accused, though she is the chief minister of West Bengal, does not come under her official duty. Therefore, a sanction is not required and there is no bar to proceed against the accused," the court observed in its order.

It is pertinent to mention that a complaint was filed by Mumbai BJP unit functionary Vivekanand Gupta, who had approached the Metropolitan Magistrates' court in December 2021. In his complaint Gupta had accused Mamata Banerjee of disrespecting the national anthem. He also demanded that an FIR be registered against her.


Vivekananda Gupta, in his complaint, had claimed Mamata Banerjee had violated the Home Ministry's 2015 order, which states that whenever the national anthem is played or sung, the audience must stand to attention.

Banerjee was on a visit to Mumbai last year, organized an intellectual meet, and she also met leaders of the ruling Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra.