The Supreme Court, in a follow up to the hotly debated National Anthem order, has clarified its stand. But only for a special class of people..A Bench of Justices Dipak Misra, AM Khanwilkar and M Shantanagoudar have exempted disabled people from complying with its order of November 30. The order had directed that National Anthem be played in all cinema halls across the country before the movie started, and audience was required to stand up while the National Anthem was being played..Senior Advocate Raju Ramachandran, who appeared for the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD), during today’s hearing, noted that the “disabled also need to be heard”. This was met with a nod of acceptance by Justice Misra who observed that there was no question of the disabled being forced to comply with the Supreme Court orders..In the order, the Bench noted,.“Having heard learned counsel for the parties, we are inclined to modify the orders and direct that the persons who are wheel chair users, those with autism, persons suffering from cerebral palsy, multiple disabilities, parkinsons, multiple sclerosis, leprosy cured, muscular dystrophy and deaf and blind be treated not to be within the ambit of the orders passed by this Court.”.In an order passed on December 9, the Supreme Court had exempted disabled persons from the purview of its order. However, it had not set out the exact scope of such exemption. The order of today makes it clear as to the categories of disabled persons who have been exempted..The Bench also heard various intervenors and petitioners today along with the main petitioner Shyam Narayan Chouksey. Chouksey was represented by Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi..Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay has also filed a petition to make ‘Vande Mataram’ the national song, and to play it compulsorily in schools..The Court today issued notice in that petition..Read the order below.
The Supreme Court, in a follow up to the hotly debated National Anthem order, has clarified its stand. But only for a special class of people..A Bench of Justices Dipak Misra, AM Khanwilkar and M Shantanagoudar have exempted disabled people from complying with its order of November 30. The order had directed that National Anthem be played in all cinema halls across the country before the movie started, and audience was required to stand up while the National Anthem was being played..Senior Advocate Raju Ramachandran, who appeared for the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD), during today’s hearing, noted that the “disabled also need to be heard”. This was met with a nod of acceptance by Justice Misra who observed that there was no question of the disabled being forced to comply with the Supreme Court orders..In the order, the Bench noted,.“Having heard learned counsel for the parties, we are inclined to modify the orders and direct that the persons who are wheel chair users, those with autism, persons suffering from cerebral palsy, multiple disabilities, parkinsons, multiple sclerosis, leprosy cured, muscular dystrophy and deaf and blind be treated not to be within the ambit of the orders passed by this Court.”.In an order passed on December 9, the Supreme Court had exempted disabled persons from the purview of its order. However, it had not set out the exact scope of such exemption. The order of today makes it clear as to the categories of disabled persons who have been exempted..The Bench also heard various intervenors and petitioners today along with the main petitioner Shyam Narayan Chouksey. Chouksey was represented by Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi..Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay has also filed a petition to make ‘Vande Mataram’ the national song, and to play it compulsorily in schools..The Court today issued notice in that petition..Read the order below.