Flag Code Doesn't Mandate That National Flag Should Be Hoisted On All Days On The Public Buildings: Madhya Pradesh HC [Read Order]

There is no mandate in the Flag Code of India that the National Flag should be hoisted on all days on the public buildings, said the bench comprising the Chief Justice SK Seth and Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla.

Shyam Narayan Chouksey had approached the High Court aggrieved by lack of response to his representation he had submitted in which he had made some suggestions vis-à-vis flying of national Flag.

His suggestions were: 1) Flag should be hoisted at all polling booths on the date of voting. 2) The National Flag should be hoisted on certain specific dates as well, i.e., 30th January – the date when Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated; 3) 13th April – when massacre of freedom-fighters took place at Jaliawala Bagh in which almost 379 people last their lives; 4) 23rd March – when three freedomfighters Shahid Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged. 5) On the demises of constitutional dignitaries and eminent personalities in 2 various fields of the society, at Schools and prominent government buildings etc.

The bench referred to the High Court judgment in V.K. Naswa vs Union Of India, wherein, while dismissing a similar plea, it was observed that there is no mandate in the Flag Code that the National Flag should be hoisted on all days on the public buildings.

It was on Chouksey's petition the Supreme Court had passed an interim order directing the movie theaters to play National Anthem. This order was recalled later.