new delhi there is no need to compulsorily stand up when the national anthem is sung or played as part of a film or documentary the supreme court said on tuesday while clarifying its earlier order in the wake of reports that people have been assaulted for not rising when the anthem was played during a filmin their earlier order a bench of justices dipak misra and r banumathi had said people need to stand up when the national anthem as part of constitutional patriotism when it is played before screening of a film and people are not obliged to stand up when the national anthem was played as part of a movieas part of the arguments on tuesday the attorney general mukul rohatgi said singing the national anthem should be made mandatory in schools as part of instilling patriotism in the populationthe courts clarification came in light of news reports of people being beaten and bullied in cinema halls for not standing up for the national anthem when it was played in the middle of aamir khanstarrer dangalit is clarified that when the national anthem is sung or played in the storyline of a feature film or as part of the newsreel or documentary apart from what has been stated in the order dated november 30 2016 the audience need not stand the bench said the court said its interim order making it mandatory for cinema halls to play the national anthem before screening of films would continuethe court had said in its november order that the national anthem must be played in all cinema halls before a film was screened and everyone present must stand up time has come when people must respect the national anthem which is part of constitutional patriotism people must feel that it is their country it is because of the country that they are enjoying freedom and liberty the bench had saidthe apex court order was criticised by some sections and several petitions filed seeking recall of the verdict challenging the scs direction senior advocate rajeev dhawan said the court should not have passed the order as making the national anthem mandatory at places of entertainment was popcorn nationalism and amounted to moral policingthe centre however stoutly defended the courts order and said there was no compulsion to sing the national anthem but people must stand up attorney general mukul rohatgi also said singing of national anthem should be made mandatory in schoolsfeeling of patriotism should start from schools singing of national anthem should be made part of the school curriculum and it should be made compulsory for students to sing national anthem it is needed to instil a sense of patriotism in children rohatgi told the benchsenior advocate c u singh appearing for kodungallur film society said forcing the national anthem on people in cinema halls would not promote nationalism he said the centre in early 1980s had discontinued the practice of mandatorily playing the national anthem at the end of films