Family thrown out of the cinema hall for refusing to stand during the national anthem..

A video, in which a family was thrown out from the cinema hall after they disrespected the national anthem, went viral on social networking site.

The family members didn't get up during the national anthem, which was played before the start of a movie. When other people raised the objection the family members made excuses and refused to stand up. They got into an ugly spat, a man in a fit of rage even threatened to slap them. After a lot of embarrassment , the 'shameless' family was forced to leave the cinema hall & audience celebrated with a round of applause.

The shameful incident took place in the PVR Cinema, Mumbai during a show of Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor starrer movie 'Tamasha'.

Although its our duty to respect the National Anthem, it is 'NOT' a crime not to be seated when the National Anthem is played.

As far as I know, it's not mandatory to stand up while the national anthem is played. "It is the moral duty of a person to stand in the attention position when the National Anthem is played but if they do not do so, then, prima facae it is not a crime under the 1971 Act, and, under the 2002 National Flag Code, no mention of any crime is stated if a person is not standing at attention," according to a court ruling.

Section 3 of the Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act, 1971 states that whoever intentionally prevents the singing of the Indian National Anthem or causes disturbance to any assembly engaged in such singing shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.

A logical interpretation of this Section implies that only those who “intentionally prevent” or “cause disturbance” to the singing of the National Anthem are liable to be prosecuted under the Act.

The Supreme Court has said that the audience in cinema houses need not stand up when the national anthem is sung as part of a movie.

A couple of years age, disposing of an appeal by Karan Johar, producer-director of the film 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham' against the Madhya Pradesh High Court order directing the deletion of the national anthem from the film, the court said, "Whenever the Anthem is sung or played, the audience shall stand to attention. However, when in the course of a newsreel or documentary the Anthem is played as a part of the film, it is not expected of the audience to stand as standing is bound to interrupt the exhibition of the film and would create disorder and confusion rather than add to the dignity of the Anthem."

For those uninitiated, in 2002, the opposition in Bihar had filed a case of disrespect to national honour against Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi, as they did not stand up for the National Anthem during the Republic Day celebrations. However, the court dismissed the case, by saying that it is not a criminal offense.

-K Himaanshu Shuklaa..