Karnataka high court upholds government stand on anthem tune; no bar on rendition

Bengaluru: The high court upheld a single-judge order rejecting singer Kikkeri Krishnamurthy's challenge to the state govt's decision to adopt a 2-minute-and-30-second tune composed by Mysuru Ananthaswamy for the rendition of the state anthem, Jayabharatha Jananiya Thanujaate. A division bench, consisting of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Poonacha, dismissed the singer's appeal, stating that the state govt had not prohibited anyone from singing the state anthem in their own way, and therefore, the appellant's rights were not infringed. The govt issued an order on Sept 25, 2022, selecting Mysuru Ananthaswamy's tune for the state anthem.Krishnamurthy argued that since Rashtrakavi Kuvempu's Bharatha Jananiya Thanujaate was officially designated as the state anthem in 2004, Karnataka had consistently used the tune composed by C Ashwath for its performance. He claimed that Mysuru Ananthaswamy had not composed the complete tune for the state anthem and that there was no material evidence to support the govt's claim, rendering the impugned order unenforceable.The single-judge bench, which dismissed the singer's petition in April 2025, pointed out that the petitioner's rights, including his Fundamental Right to Speech and Expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) and his occupational rights secured under Article 19(1)(g), had not been infringed in any way. The bench also noted that the selection of a specific raaga for singing the state anthem followed a detailed study conducted by a high-level committee of experts in the field.