Overview
- A division bench in Indore issued notices on Thursday in a PIL over two Congress corporators who refused to sing the national song during the April 8 Indore Municipal Corporation budget session.
- MG Road police registered an FIR on Wednesday under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 196(1) and 3(5) after reviewing CCTV and media footage, which police say can carry three to five years in jail if convictions follow.
- Investigators questioned Fauzia Sheikh Aleem and Rubina Iqbal Khan for about four hours each and recorded that both cited religious reasons for not singing the song.
- The Congress leadership set up a two-member panel to examine the episode and related public remarks and asked for a report within a week.
- The High Court listed the matter for the week of May 11, and the case has become a political flashpoint as parties argue over religious freedom, civic duty, and respect for national symbols.