Madras HC Dismisses PIL on Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu Order After Centre and Tamil Nadu Issue Revised Circulars

A PIL challenging a Ministry of Home Affairs circular that allegedly relegated Tamil Nadu's State song became infructuous after revised administrative orders restored its ceremonial primacy.

The Madras High Court, in a Division Bench led by Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari, dismissed a public interest litigation challenging a Ministry of Home Affairs circular dated 28 January 2026 that the petitioner argued had altered the traditional order in which Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu—Tamil Nadu's officially recognised State song—was rendered at official functions. The court found that subsequent administrative action by both the Central Government and the State Government had fully addressed the grievance, leaving no issue for judicial determination. The writ petition was dismissed as infructuous, without costs, on 18 August 2026.

The Dispute Before the High Court

The petitioner, Ananya Radhakrishnan, filed the writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking a writ of certiorarified mandamus. She called for the quashing of File No.14.02.2025-Public dated 28 January 2026 issued by the Joint Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs. Along with that, she sought directions compelling the respondents to issue administrative instructions and protocol guidelines to ensure that Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu is rendered at the commencement of official State functions and constitutional ceremonies.

The petitioner's core contention was historical and cultural. Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu was written by Manonmaniam Sundaram Pillai in 1891. The State of Tamil Nadu officially declared it the State song on 17 December 2021. The established practice at State functions in Tamil Nadu had been to open with Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu and close with the National Anthem.

This practice was disrupted, the petitioner alleged, at the swearing-in ceremony of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers on 10 May 2026. On that occasion, Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu was sung third, after Vande Mataram and Jana Gana Mana. The petitioner argued that this altered order diluted the ceremonial status of the State song and violated cultural rights protected under Article 29(1) of the Constitution, as well as the principles of federalism. She further contended that the circular of 28 January 2026 did not explicitly mandate that State songs be rendered after national songs.

Respondents 1 and 2 were the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Union of India. Respondents 3 and 4 were the State of Tamil Nadu represented by the Chief Secretary and the Additional Chief Secretary, Public Department, respectively. Respondent No. 5, the State of Tamil Nadu represented by the Governor, was deleted from the array of respondents by order dated 12 June 2026.

The Revised Circular and the State Government's Response

When the matter was taken up on 18 August 2026, the Senior Panel Counsel appearing for Respondents 1 and 2 placed before the court a revised circular dated 9 July 2026 issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The court's attention was drawn specifically to Paragraph 3 of the revised circular, which states: “In some of the States, State Song is also sung and played along with National Anthem/National Song.”

That paragraph goes on to clarify the protocol: whenever a State song is sung or played with the National Song or National Anthem, both the National Song and the National Anthem shall be sung or played together, with the National Song preceding the National Anthem. Senior Panel Counsel submitted that individual States retain full discretion to decide when to render their State song and may place it at any point in the programme.

The court also noted that the State of Tamil Nadu had issued Government Order G.O.Ms.No.531, Public Department, dated 12 August 2026. That order expressly refers to the Central Government's revised circular of 9 July 2026. It confirms that Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu shall continue to be sung at the beginning of programmes across educational institutions, universities, government offices, and public sector undertakings in Tamil Nadu.

The Advocate General, appearing with the Special Government Pleader for Respondents 3 and 4, represented the State's position before the bench.

How the Bench Reasoned

Chief Justice Dharmadhikari, who authored the order on behalf of the Division Bench, read the revised circular of 9 July 2026 as leaving the placement and performance of a State song entirely to the discretion of the State Government. The original circular of 28 January 2026—which the petitioner sought to quash—had not explicitly mandated any particular position for State songs relative to national songs. The revised circular resolved that ambiguity by separating the protocol for the National Song and National Anthem from the question of where a State song is placed.

The Government of Tamil Nadu's G.O.Ms.No.531 of 12 August 2026 then formally reaffirmed that Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu would be sung at the commencement of official functions in the State. Together, the two administrative instruments addressed precisely what the petitioner had sought through the writ petition: a clear protocol that preserved the primacy of the State song at official functions.

The bench found that the grievances ventilated through the petition had been “fully addressed by these administrative updates” and that no further issue remained for judicial determination. On that basis, the court did not go on to examine the merits of the challenge to the original circular, the Article 29(1) claim, or the federalism argument. The prayer in the writ petition was held to have become infructuous.

Outcome

The Division Bench dismissed W.P.No.21971 of 2026 as infructuous on 18 August 2026, without costs. All connected miscellaneous petitions—W.M.P.Nos.23835, 23840, and 23844 of 2026—were closed.