The President has given assent to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act, 2026, bringing into force legislation that extends statutory protection to Vande Mataram by making intentional obstruction or disruption of its rendition a punishable offence.
With the amendment coming into effect, Vande Mataram, India’s National Song, now enjoys legal safeguards similar to those available to the National Anthem under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. The law penalises any person who deliberately prevents the singing of Vande Mataram or causes disturbance during its rendition. Such conduct is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years, a fine, or both.
The amendment inserts Vande Mataram into the statutory framework governing offences against national symbols. Until now, the 1971 Act primarily protected the National Flag, the Constitution of India and the National Anthem. The latest amendment expands the law’s ambit to include the National Song as well.
The legislation had earlier secured the approval of both Houses of Parliament before being presented to the President for assent. The Union Government had maintained that the measure was intended to accord Vande Mataram the same level of legal protection as the National Anthem in recognition of its historic role in India’s freedom movement.
The amended law, however, does not make the singing of Vande Mataram compulsory. Instead, it criminalises deliberate acts of insult or intentional obstruction during its rendition, mirroring the protection already available in respect of the National Anthem.
Vande Mataram, composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and first published in his novel Anandamath, was adopted as India’s National Song by the Constituent Assembly on January 24, 1950. The first two stanzas alone enjoy official recognition.
The enactment marks a significant expansion of the statutory regime governing national symbols and is expected to have implications for the enforcement of offences relating to the National Song across the country.
The post President assents to law criminalising obstruction of Vande Mataram singing appeared first on India Legal.