The apex court had last year made it mandatory to play the national anthem before a movie. "Just because someone doesn't sing the national anthem in cinema halls, they do not become less patriotic," Justice Chandrachud said. People are afraid of being called anti-national if they oppose mandatory singing of national anthem," the bench remarked, according to WION. The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to consider amending the national flag code for regulating the playing of national anthem in cinema halls across the country. The court's directions last year had come on a PIL filed by one Shyam Narayan Chouksey seeking directions that the national anthem should be played in all the cinema halls before a film begins.

Source: dna October 23, 2017 12:00 UTC