Mumbai court set aside summons issued against Mamata Banerjee in National Anthem

Mumbai sessions court  set aside summons issued against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in a case where she had allegedly disrespected the national anthem.

The Sessions court has set aside a magistrate court’s summons issued to the Chief Minister in February 2022 for procedural lapses.

Special judge RN Rokade observed that the magistrate didn’t follow the mandatory provisions before issuing summons to Mamata Banerjee and asked the magistrate to proceed with the case from the beginning and remanded the case back to the magistrate’s court.

The special Court in Mumbai was hearing Mamata Banerjee’s application challenging summons issued against her by Giragum court on the basis of a complaint filed by BJP leader Vivekanand Gupta for alleged disrespect of National Anthem by Mamata Banerjee in a programme in Mumbai.

The BJP leader had alleged that Banerjee showed utter disrespect to the national anthem by allegedly singing it while sitting and then abruptly stopping after 4 or 5 verses during her visit to the city in December 2021.

On February 2 last year, a Magistrate Court had directed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to appear before it on March 2, 2022 in connection with the complaint.