6 arrested for not standing up during national anthem at Kerala film festival

A police case has been registered against six people, on 13 December, for not standing up during the national anthem at an international film festival in Kerala.

According to a report in NDTV, the police said that the men did not stand even when officials present there requested them to stand as per the Supreme Court order. The IFFK organisers and Director of Chalachitra Academy, Charmin Kamal, also asked them to stand, but they refused.

The incident occurred on 12 December at the Kannakakunnu Nishagandhi Auditorium, an open air theatre, where an Egyptian movie was being screened.

The men were arrested but later released on bail.

In another incident, BJP youth wing, Yuva Morcha, filed a complaint against some youngsters who refused to stand up for the national anthem on 9 December.

On Sunday, a group of college students was manhandled and threatened in a movie theatre in Chennai for not standing up during the national anthem.

The students have been charged with insulting the national anthem - which carries a three-year jail term. No case was filed against those who attacked them.