Use of national anthem tune illegal, rules Bangladesh court
By IANSThursday, August 5, 2010
DHAKA - The use of the national anthem tune as ring tone or welcome tune is illegal, the Dhaka High Court ruled Thursday.
Accepting a writ petition filed by a lawyer four years ago, the court also imposed a fine of Taka five million ($ 71,942) each on three telecom operators in Bangladesh for using the national anthem for business purpose.
Those fined are Grameenphone, the largest telecom operator founded by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, Banglalink and Aktel (Rabi), Star Online, website of The Daily Star, reported.
The three mobile phone operators were made defendants of the writ petition filed in 2006 by Kalipada Mridha, a Supreme Court lawyer.
Mridha contended that the three companies have been using the tune of the national anthem for business purposes, which is derogatory and a criminal offence.
The court directed the enterprises to pay the sum of the penalty to three welfare organisations including Kidney Research Centre and National Heart Foundation within 30 days after getting a certified copy of the judgment.
The national anthem, “Aamar Sonar Bangla”, was written by noted poet Rabindranath Tagore.
