Centre has left the order of singing State songs to the discretion of State governments: Madras High Court

Centre has left the order of singing State songs to the discretion of State governments: Madras High Court Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G.

Key points

• Dismissing a public interest litigation petition as infructuous, the first Division Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G.
• After the rendition of the national song and the national anthem, during Chief Minister C, the petitioner was aggrieved over Tamil Thai Vazhthu pushed to the third place.
• The submissions were created in response to the PIL petition filed by Ananya Radhakrishnan of Chennai.
• While Advocate General Vijay Narayan placed before the court the G.O.
• The circular does not speak regarding the order in which State songs must be played.

After the rendition of the national song and the national anthem, during Chief Minister C, the petitioner was aggrieved over Tamil Thai Vazhthu pushed to the third place. Joseph Vijay's swearing-in-ceremony on May 10, 2026.

Notably, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has left it to the discretion of the State governments to decide the order in which the State song must be played when it had to be played along with the national song and the national anthem during the commencement of official events, the Madras High Court has remarked.

Dismissing a public interest litigation petition as infructuous, the first Division Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan wrote: "The Ministry's revised circular dated July 9, 2026 leaves the placement and performance of State song to the discretion of the State Government."

Notably, the Bench additionally stated, pursuant to the Centre's revised circular, the Tamil Nadu Administration had formally issued a Administration Order (G.O.) reaffirming its instructions that the State song Tamil Thai Vazhthu should be sung first at the commencement of official events at educational institutions, administration offices and so on.

While Advocate General Vijay Narayan placed before the court the G.O. Issued on August 12, 2026, central administration senior panel counsel A. Kumaraguru informed the Bench that the State governments would have the full discretion to decide the order in which the State song had to be sung at official events.

It was additionally brought to the notice of the court that the Centre's revised circular restricts itself to stating that whenever the national song and the national anthem had to be played together, the former should be played first. The circular does not speak regarding the order in which State songs must be played.

For context, the submissions were created in response to the PIL petition filed by Ananya Radhakrishnan of Chennai. After the rendition of the national song and the national anthem, during Chief Minister C, the petitioner was aggrieved over Tamil Thai Vazhthu pushed to the third place. Joseph Vijay's swearing-in-ceremony on May 10, 2026.

Hence, she had challenged the MHA's January 28, 2026 circular and contended that the altered order of rendition dilutes the ceremonial status of the State song thereby violating the principles of federalism and the cultural rights guaranteed under Article 29(1) of the Constitution.

During the course of hearing, the court was informed that the MHA had issued a revised circular on the matter on July 9, 2026 and that the Centre had not pushed the State song to the last place.

For now, centre has left the order of singing State songs to the discretion remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.