HC questions legality of displaying national flags behind public servants' chairs, sofas
Court also directs a three-member committee to investigate whether flags displayed in government offices comply with the National Flag Rules, 1972.
The High Court today (25 August) questioned the legality of displaying the national flag behind chairs or sofas used by officials and employees of government and autonomous bodies.
The bench of Justice Ahmed Sohel and Justice SM Iftekhar Uddin Mahmud passed the orders after an initial hearing on a writ petition filed by lawyer Sharif Sarkar.
It also directed the cabinet secretary to form a three-member committee to investigate whether national flags currently displayed in government offices are being used in accordance with the National Flag Rules, 1972, and submit a report within 60 days.
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The committee will comprise a judicial officer, a representative of the Cabinet Division and a teacher from a public university, the court said.
Supreme Court lawyer HM Shanjid Siddiqi appeared for the petitioner.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Shanjid said officials at various government offices had recently started displaying national flags behind their tables or chairs and sitting in front of them.
The National Flag Rules, 1972, allow 15 categories of people to use the national flag at their offices, residences and vehicles. But officials at various government offices, particularly those under the Secretariat and corporations, have recently been displaying flags behind their chairs on a regular basis, he added.
"The rules do not provide for such a display," Shanjid said.
He also said the rules require the national flag, when displayed on a building, to be flown from sunrise to sunset and remain free from anything that would prevent it from flying freely.
The flags being displayed behind officials are often bent or curved, with the officials sitting in front of them, rather than being flown, he added.
Following the hearing, the court issued a rule asking why displaying the national flag behind officials while they sit in front of it, or behind their chairs, should not be declared illegal.
As an interim measure, the court directed officials and employees of government and autonomous offices to refrain from illegally displaying the national flag beside their chairs or sofas.
The court also directed the cabinet secretary to form the three-member committee and submit its report within 60 days.
