23 Dec 2009

FLY TRICOLOUR AT NIGHT, 
ILLUMINATED AND ON TALL POLE

From Our Bureau

NEW DELHI: You can not fly the national flag at night, provided it is well-illuminated and put on a really tall flagpole.

A decision to this effect has been conveyed by the Home Ministry to industrialist-turned Congress MP Naveen Jindal, who had earlier won a court battle in 2002 for flying the Tricolour as a fundamental right of every citizen.

In a letter to him, the Ministry said it had examined his proposal to allow the flag flying at night by installing giant flagpoles to fly it day and night.

Jindal had moved the Ministry in June, seeking permission to fly mammoth-sized national flags on monumental flagpoles during night by relaxing the Flag Code of india that allows the Tricolour flown “as far as possible between sunrise and sunset.

His plea was that it is a common practice worldwide for massive national flags to be flown day and night on monumental flagpoles of 100 feet and above in height. He cited examples of countries like Malaysia, Jordon, Abu Dhabi, North Korea, Brazil, Mexico and Turkmenistan.

The only condition that the ministry put for flying the national flag at night is that there was adequate arrangement for its proper illumination at night with backup in case of power failure and that the flag be replaced immediately as soon as it gets damaged.

After almost a decade long legal battle, Jindal got the Supreme Court's verdict in 2002, allowing every citizen to fly the national flag with respect, dignity and honour, thus making it a fundamental right. He had gone to court challenging directions to remove the Tricolour hoisted at his factory premises.

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