Janjivan Bureau / New Delhi : The Minister of Home Affairs has instituted a 12-member inter-ministerial committee headed by a special secretary-level officer to draft guidelines for playing national anthem and suggest changes to the Prevention of National Honour Act, 1971, a source in the ministry said on Tuesday.
The committee has six months to submit a report.
A senior official in the MHA said the ministry has asked ministries of Defence, MEA, I&B, Legal Affairs, HRD, Minority Affair, Culture, Parliamentary Affairs, Women & Child Welfare and department of Empowerment of persons with Disability to nominate people panel officers not below the rank of joint secretary. The committee’s first meeting is likely to be held on January 19.
The development comes within hours of the Supreme Court modifying its previous order of making national anthem compulsory in movie theatres until new guidelines were drafted and approved.
The court said cinema halls could decide if they wanted to play the national anthem, modifying its previous verdict of making it mandatory.
