Prevention Of Insults To National Honour Act 1971
Act No. 69 Of 1971
Statement of Objects and Reasons :
Cases involving deliberate disrespect to National Flag, the National Anthem and the Constitution have come to the notice in the recent past. Some of these incidents were discussed in both the Houses of Parliament and members expressed great anxiety about the disrespect shown to the national symbols. Government were urged to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. Disrespect to the National Flag and the Constitution or the National Anthem is not punishable under the existing law. Public acts of insults to these symbols of sovereignty and the integrity of the nation must be prevented. Hence the Bill. The scope of the law is restricted to overt acts of insult to and attack on, the national symbols by burning, trampling defiling or mutilating in public. It is not intended to prohibit honest and bona fide criticism of the symbols and express provisions to this effect have been made in the Bill.
AmendmentAct31 of 2003-Statement of Objects and Reasons :
The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 was enacted to punish overt acts of insult to, and attacks on, certain national symbols by burning, trampling, defiling or multilating them in the public. Cases involving disrespect to the National Flag and the National Anthem have come to the notice of the Government in the recent past. In order to prevent the recurrence of disrespect to the National Flag, it is proposed to amend (i) section 2 of Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 to insert the word “disrespect” and an Explanation so as to widen the scope of the expression “insult”; and (ii) to provide for imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year for the second and subsequent offences under section 3 of that Act.
2. The Bill seeks to achieve the above objects.
An Act to prevent Insults to National Honour.
Be it enacted by Parliament in the Twenty-second Year of the Republic of India as follows:
Section 1 :
Short title and extent :
(1) This Act may be called The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act , 1971.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.
