The Karnataka High Court on Thursday refused to entertain a PIL challenging a circular issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on singing the national song Vande Mataram in schools.

A division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakru and Justice C.M. Poonacha noted that the circular only uses the word “may,” making it purely advisory and not mandatory.

The petition, filed by lawyer Somashekar Rajavamshi, argued that asking schools to sing all six stanzas of Vande Mataram violates the secular structure of the Constitution. He pointed out that some stanzas refer to Hindu deities and sought to restrict the song to its first two stanzas.

However, the Court accepted the Centre’s stand that the advisory is discretionary. It also noted that there is no punishment for not singing the song and no compulsion on schools to implement it.

The bench said the petitioner’s concerns about possible discrimination against those who choose not to sing the song were vague and not backed by any concrete instance. Calling the plea “premature,” the Court refused to entertain it.

Notably, the Supreme Court of India had also recently declined to hear a similar plea, observing that singing Vande Mataram is not compulsory