New Delhi: Mumbai-based Raza Academy Chairman Muhammad Saeed Noori on Wednesday challenged Supreme Court The Centre’s recent order is that all schools can start the day’s work with community singing of the full version of the national anthem.Vande Mataram‘, which invokes the motherland as Hindu deities, because it hurts the constitutionally guaranteed religious freedom and secularism of Muslims.Senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, appearing for Noori, told a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M Pancholi that India is a multi-religious country where the Constitution guarantees freedom to practice any religion, and those who do not want to sing the national anthem cannot be forced to do so. “The effect of the impugned instructions is to place citizens, particularly those belonging to minority religions or monotheistic beliefs, in an untenable position at the risk of participating in expressions contrary to their conscience/belief/religion or showing disrespect to the national symbol,” he said.The bench asked Hegde to show any part of the direction which made it mandatory for schools to sing the national anthem in its full version and asked whether there was a provision for consequential penalty for violating it.Hegde said that the Supreme Court had given a similar direction in 2018, in which singing of the national anthem in films was made mandatory. “Because of that directive, I and like-minded people stopped watching films. Patriotism cannot be forced. If the Constitution is to have any meaning for an individual, individual conscience must be protected.”The bench said the plea was premature as the instructions stated that the day’s work in school “may commence” with the singing of the national anthem. “It does not violate the right to speak because it does not force anyone. When you are forced (to sing the national anthem) you can approach the court,” it said.