Judicial Process

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CASE STUDY :

BIJOE EMMANUEL AND OTHERS v. STATE OF KERELA

SUBMITTED BY: LOHITA DAS

ROLL NO: 2012/LL.M/002

1ST SEMESTER, LL.M.

NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY ODISHA.

 BACKGROUND OF THE CASE

In the case of Bijoe Emmanuel and Others v State of Kerela there were three child appellants who belonged to a sect called Jehovah’s Witnesses who only worship Jehova and no one else. The three child appellants were Bijoe, Binu Mol and Bindu Emmanuel who refused to sing the National Anthem 'Jana Gana Mana' because, according to them, it is against the tenets of their religious faith, not the words or the thoughts of the National Anthem but the singing of it. The children use to stand up in respectful silence daily in the morning assembly while the National Anthem is sung by others. A member of the Legislative Assembly took notice of this and put a question in the Assembly regarding this. A commission was set up to enquire and report on the same. The commission reported that the children are ‘law-abiding’ and that they showed no disrespect to the National Anthem. But these matters of conscience, which though better left alone, are sensitive and emotionally evocative. So, under the instructions of Deputy Inspector of Schools, the Head Mistress expelled the three children from the school. The father of the children made representations requesting that his children may be permitted to attend the school pending orders from the Government. The Head Mistress did not allow the children to attend the school and expressed her helplessness in the matter. Finally, the children filed a Writ Petition in the High Court seeking an order restraining the authorities from preventing them from attending school. The High Court misdirected itself and went off at a tengent. They considered, in minute detail, each and every word and thought of the National Anthem in order to check whether there was any word which would offend the religious suspectibilities. First a learned judge and then a...