{"id":355745,"date":"2025-08-05T18:00:51","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T12:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=355745"},"modified":"2025-08-11T17:19:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T11:49:31","slug":"not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Mere lapse in not lowering National Flag after sunset not gross affront or insult\u2019; Kerala HC quashes criminal case dating back to 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Kerala High Court:<\/span> In criminal proceedings initiated against the Secretary of Angamaly Municipality for failing to lower the National Flag for nearly two days following its hoisting during Independence Day celebrations, the Single Judge Bench of Kauser Edappagath,J. held that such inaction did not amount to any of the acts specified under Section 2<\/a> of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971<\/a> (\u2018the Act of 1971\u2019), nor did it fall within the illustrative instances provided in Explanation 4. Hence, mere lapse or inaction in not lowering the National Flag after sunset cannot be considered a gross affront, indignity, or insult to the flag. Accordingly, the Court quashed the final report and all further proceedings in the case pending before the Trial Court against the accused.<\/p>\n

Background<\/h3>\n

The accused had been serving as the Secretary of Angamaly Municipality. The prosecution alleged that on Independence Day in 2015, the National Flag was hoisted in the compound of the Angamaly Municipality in the presence of the accused and was not lowered until 17-08-2015 at noon. The Station House Officer of Angamaly Police Station registered a suo motu FIR in the matter. A case was registered for offences punishable under Section 2(a)<\/a> of the Act of 1971<\/a> , read with Part-III, Section III, Rule 3.6 of the Flag Code of India, 2002 (\u2018the Flag Code, 2002\u2019).<\/p>\n

The Trial Court took the final report on file, took cognizance of the alleged offence. The accused then approached the Court by filing the present petition, seeking to quash the proceedings on the ground that the allegations in the final report, even if taken at face value and accepted in their entirety, did not prima facie<\/span> constitute any offence or make out a case against him.<\/p>\n

Issue<\/h3>\n

Whether the alleged inaction on the part of the accused attracted offences under Section 2(a)<\/a> of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971<\/a>, read with Part-III, Section III, Rule 3.6 of the Flag Code of India, 2002.<\/p>\n

Analysis and Decision<\/h3>\n

The Court observed that it was not in dispute that on 15-08-2015, in the morning, in connection with Independence Day, the National Flag was hoisted in the compound of the Angamaly Municipality in the presence and with the knowledge of the accused, and that it remained hoisted until noon of 17-08-2015. According to the prosecution, the National Flag was permitted to remain hoisted only from sunrise to sunset, and the accused, being the Secretary and head of the Municipality, bore the responsibility for ensuring that the flag was lowered at sunset on 15-08-2015.<\/p>\n

The Court noted that the right to fly the National Flag freely, with respect and dignity, was a fundamental right of a citizen under Article 19(1)(a)<\/a> of the Constitution of India<\/a>, as it constituted an expression and manifestation of one\u2019s allegiance, pride, and sentiments toward the nation. However, the Court clarified that this fundamental right was not absolute, but rather a qualified right, subject to reasonable restrictions under Clause (2) of Article 19<\/a> of the Constitution<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950<\/a>, along with the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971<\/a>, regulated the use of the National Flag. In this context, the Court relied on the decision in Union of India<\/span> v. Naveen Jindal & Another<\/span>, (2004) 2 SCC 510, to reiterate that while the right exists, it is subject to statutory control. Furthermore, Section 2 of the Act of 1971 specifically dealt with acts that amount to insults to the Indian National Flag and the Constitution of India<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Court emphasised that, to attract the offence under Section 2<\/a> of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971<\/a>, it must be established that a person burned, mutilated, defaced, defiled, disfigured, destroyed, trampled upon, or otherwise showed disrespect to, or brought into contempt, the Indian National Flag or the Constitution of India<\/a>, or any part thereof, either in a public place or in any other place within public view.<\/p>\n

The Court referred to Explanation 4 of the provision, which enumerates various instances that would amount to disrespect of the National Flag. It held that the act of not lowering the National Flag after sunset did not fall within any of the actions specified under Section 2 or within the illustrative acts mentioned in Explanation 4.<\/p>\n

The Court clarified that sub-clause (a) of Explanation 4 would apply only when a gross affront or indignity is offered to the National Flag. In the present case, the prosecution did not allege that by failing to lower the flag, the accused had offered such an affront or indignity. The Court held that a mere lapse or inaction in not lowering the National Flag after sunset could not, by itself, amount to an insult or gross disrespect.<\/p>\n

Crucially, the Court observed that unless there is a deliberate action with the intention to insult national honour or to show disrespect to the National Flag, the provisions of the Act of 1971 would not be attracted. In the absence of any material showing mens rea<\/span> or deliberate intent on the part of the accused, the act in question could not be considered an offence under the said Act.<\/p>\n

Further, the Court noted that the Flag Code of India, 2002 comprises executive instructions issued by the Central Government, and thus does not constitute \u2018law\u2019 within the meaning of Article 13(3)(a)<\/a> of the Constitution of India<\/a>. The Flag Code functions as a model code of conduct which is to be followed by all citizens, but penal consequences cannot be imposed unless there exists a specific statutory provision for the same. In support of this reasoning, the Court cited Satheesh Babu P.K<\/span>. v. State of Kerala.<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

The Court concluded that, as a result of the foregoing discussion, even if the entire allegations contained in the final report, along with the materials collected during investigation forming part of the said report, were accepted in their entirety, no offence under Section 2(a)<\/a> of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971<\/a>, read with Part-III, Section III, Rule 3.6 of the Flag Code of India, 2002, was made out against the accused.<\/p>\n

It held that no useful purpose would be served by allowing the criminal prosecution against the accused to continue. Accordingly, the Court quashed the final report and all further proceedings in the case pending before the Trial Court.<\/p>\n

[Vinu C Kunjappan v. State of Kerala, 2025 SCC OnLine Ker 5730<\/a>, decided on 29-07-2025<\/span>]<\/p>\n

\n

Advocates who appeared in this case:<\/p>\n

For Petitioner:<\/span> S.Rajeev,K.K.Dheerendrakrishnan,V.Vinay, D.Feroze, Anand Kalyanakrishnan<\/p>\n

For Respondent:<\/span> Sangeetha Raj.N.R-PP<\/p>\n

Buy Constitution of India \u00a0HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n

\"Constitution<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

1.<\/a> 2016 (2) KHC 266.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“To attract the offence under Section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, a person should burn, mutilate, deface, defile, disfigure, destroy, trample upon or otherwise show disrespect to or bring into contempt, the Indian National Flag or the Constitution of India or any part thereof, in any public place or in any other place within public view.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67512,"featured_media":355749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[86696,86697,86698,86699,35491,2523,11581,50783],"class_list":["post-355745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casebriefs","category-highcourts","tag-angamaly-municipality","tag-criminal-case-quashed","tag-flag-disrespect","tag-flag-hoisting-rules","tag-flag-code","tag-Kerala_High_Court","tag-national-flag","tag-prevention-of-insults-to-national-honour-act"],"yoast_head":"\nKerala HC: Not Lowering National Flag After Sunset Not an Insult | SCC Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kerala High Court held that not lowering National Flag after sunset is not an act of insult under Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act; Quashed criminal case against Angamaly Municipality Secretary.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Mere lapse in not lowering National Flag after sunset not gross affront or insult\u2019; Kerala HC quashes criminal case dating back to 2015\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kerala High Court held that not lowering National Flag after sunset is not an act of insult under Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act; Quashed criminal case against Angamaly Municipality Secretary.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SCC Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/scc.online\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-05T12:30:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-11T11:49:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/not-lowering-National-Flag-after-sunset.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"888\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"599\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Apoorva\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"\u2018Mere lapse in not lowering National Flag after sunset not gross affront or insult\u2019; Kerala HC quashes criminal case dating back to 2015\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Apoorva\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/\",\"name\":\"Kerala HC: Not Lowering National Flag After Sunset Not an Insult | SCC Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/not-lowering-National-Flag-after-sunset.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-05T12:30:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-11T11:49:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/288d814d0864b57168e08daa1940a1c9\"},\"description\":\"Kerala High Court held that not lowering National Flag after sunset is not an act of insult under Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act; Quashed criminal case against Angamaly Municipality Secretary.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/not-lowering-National-Flag-after-sunset.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/not-lowering-National-Flag-after-sunset.webp\",\"width\":888,\"height\":599,\"caption\":\"not lowering National Flag after sunset\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u2018Mere lapse in not lowering National Flag after sunset not gross affront or insult\u2019; Kerala HC quashes criminal case dating back to 2015\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SCC Times\",\"description\":\"Bringing you the Best Analytical Legal News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/288d814d0864b57168e08daa1940a1c9\",\"name\":\"Apoorva\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/549edb3ed2c7046a0c504583cf71db32c50251c1260a6331b2cc2973e80b0e91?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/549edb3ed2c7046a0c504583cf71db32c50251c1260a6331b2cc2973e80b0e91?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Apoorva\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/author\/scc-editor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kerala HC: Not Lowering National Flag After Sunset Not an Insult | SCC Times","description":"Kerala High Court held that not lowering National Flag after sunset is not an act of insult under Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act; Quashed criminal case against Angamaly Municipality Secretary.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018Mere lapse in not lowering National Flag after sunset not gross affront or insult\u2019; Kerala HC quashes criminal case dating back to 2015","og_description":"Kerala High Court held that not lowering National Flag after sunset is not an act of insult under Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act; Quashed criminal case against Angamaly Municipality Secretary.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/","og_site_name":"SCC Times","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/scc.online\/","article_published_time":"2025-08-05T12:30:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-08-11T11:49:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":888,"height":599,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/not-lowering-National-Flag-after-sunset.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Apoorva","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"\u2018Mere lapse in not lowering National Flag after sunset not gross affront or insult\u2019; Kerala HC quashes criminal case dating back to 2015","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Apoorva","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/","name":"Kerala HC: Not Lowering National Flag After Sunset Not an Insult | SCC Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/not-lowering-National-Flag-after-sunset.webp","datePublished":"2025-08-05T12:30:51+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-11T11:49:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/288d814d0864b57168e08daa1940a1c9"},"description":"Kerala High Court held that not lowering National Flag after sunset is not an act of insult under Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act; Quashed criminal case against Angamaly Municipality Secretary.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/not-lowering-National-Flag-after-sunset.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/not-lowering-National-Flag-after-sunset.webp","width":888,"height":599,"caption":"not lowering National Flag after sunset"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u2018Mere lapse in not lowering National Flag after sunset not gross affront or insult\u2019; Kerala HC quashes criminal case dating back to 2015"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/","name":"SCC Times","description":"Bringing you the Best Analytical Legal News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/288d814d0864b57168e08daa1940a1c9","name":"Apoorva","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/549edb3ed2c7046a0c504583cf71db32c50251c1260a6331b2cc2973e80b0e91?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/549edb3ed2c7046a0c504583cf71db32c50251c1260a6331b2cc2973e80b0e91?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Apoorva"},"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/author\/scc-editor\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/not-lowering-National-Flag-after-sunset.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":376886,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/","url_meta":{"origin":355745,"position":0},"title":"“Intention to insult is essential under the National Honour Act”: Bombay HC quashes FIR against 85-year-old over alleged inverted display of the National Flag","author":"Soumya Yadav","date":"February 26, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cNeither the statement of the watchman nor any material collected by the prosecution on record indicated that the applicant hoisted or displayed the Indian National Flag, or was involved in its display, on 26 January 2017.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"National Honour Act","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/National-Honour-Act.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/National-Honour-Act.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/National-Honour-Act.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/National-Honour-Act.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":253585,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2021\/09\/02\/national-flag-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":355745,"position":1},"title":"MP HC | Flag Code is not \u201claw\u201d under Art. 13 of Constitution, but mere compendium of executive instructions; flying of National Flag between sunset and sunrise not contemptuous","author":"Editor","date":"September 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Madhya Pradesh High Court: S.A. Dharmadhikari, J., allowed a petition which was filed invoking inherent powers of this Court under Section 482 of the CrPC seeking quashment of FIR registered alleging offence punishable under Section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 (1971 Act). A complaint\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":271422,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2022\/08\/09\/conviction-established-under-section-2-prevention-of-insults-to-national-honours-act-1971-delhi-court-fines-rs-2000-and-directs-distribution-of-20-national-flags\/","url_meta":{"origin":355745,"position":2},"title":"Conviction established under Section 2 of Prevention of Insults to National Honours Act, 1971; Delhi Court fines Rs 2000 and directs distribution of 20 national flags","author":"Editor","date":"August 9, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Patiala House Courts, Delhi: Nabeela Wali, J. took lenient view and sentenced a convict under Section 2 of Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 to pay Rs 2000 as fine and distribute 20 national flags of a specific dimension at Child Care Institutions\/ Educational Institutions for children including\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Patiala House Courts, Delhi","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/patialacourt.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/patialacourt.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/patialacourt.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/patialacourt.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/patialacourt.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":355675,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/ph-hc-denies-pre-arrest-bail-for-hoisting-saffron-flag-on-mosque\/","url_meta":{"origin":355745,"position":3},"title":"Punjab & Haryana High Court denies anticipatory bail to person accused of hoisting saffron flag on Mosque","author":"Editor","date":"August 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The accused had hoisted a saffron flag on a Mosque, replacing the National Flag already in place with an intent to hurt religious feelings of the members of Muslim community.","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"saffron flag on Mosque","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/saffron-flag-on-Mosque.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/saffron-flag-on-Mosque.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/saffron-flag-on-Mosque.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/saffron-flag-on-Mosque.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":272100,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2022\/08\/23\/kerala-hc-grants-anticipatory-bail-to-bjp-state-general-secretary-accused-of-insulting-national-flag-by-holding-it-upside-down\/","url_meta":{"origin":355745,"position":4},"title":"Kerala HC grants anticipatory bail to BJP State General Secretary accused of insulting National Flag by holding it upside down","author":"Editor","date":"August 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Kerala High Court: Viju Abraham, J., granted anticipatory bail to BJP State General Secretary, Lakshadweep, who was accused of insulting the National Flag by holding it upside down; i.e., by placing green on top while saffron on the bottom. The applicant is the sole accused of the offence punishable under\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kerala High Court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/kerla_high_court.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/kerla_high_court.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/kerla_high_court.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/kerla_high_court.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/kerla_high_court.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":230659,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2020\/06\/09\/national-symbols-tussle-between-patriotism-and-varied-modes-of-expression\/","url_meta":{"origin":355745,"position":5},"title":"National Symbols: Tussle between Patriotism and varied modes of Expression","author":"Bhumika Indulia","date":"June 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Abhishek Goyal*","rel":"","context":"In "Op Eds"","block_context":{"text":"Op Eds","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/op-ed\/legal-analysis\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/National-Symbols.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/National-Symbols.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/National-Symbols.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/National-Symbols.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/National-Symbols.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67512"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}