The national anthem cannot be used as ringtones or welcome tunes for mobile phones, according to a judgment by the Supreme Court.
An appeals bench led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha resolved a plea by mobile-phone operators Grameenphone and Banglalink on Monday and upheld a 2010 High Court verdict.
The High Court had then instructed Grameenphone to make donations to the Liver Foundation and Banglalink to National Institute of Kidney Research. They were asked to pay Tk 5 million each.
The Supreme Court, however, commuted the amount to Tk 3 million on Monday.
In 2006, Kalipada Mridha, an advocate, filed an appeal with the High Court, saying the use of the national anthem should be restricted to uphold its sanctity.
The petition said the National Anthem Act-1978 detailed out when, where and how the national anthem could be played and its use as ringtone violated the law.
Any commercial use of the national anthem went against fundamental rights and the public interests, it said.
In 2010, a High Court bench declared using the national anthem for mobile phone ringtones and welcome tunes as illegal.
Grameenphone and Banglalink filed a plea against the verdict, which was resolved by the top court on Monday.
Source: Bd news24
