The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition that had sought deletion of the word 'Sindh' from the anthem on the basis that it has now become part of Pakistan.

The court said that the national anthem was an immortal classic not subject to change.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice R C Lahoti, Justice D M Dharmadhikari and Justice G P Mathur also termed the Public Interest Litigation filed by Sanjeev Bhatnagar as a 'publicity interest litigation' and imposed a cost of Rs 10,000 on him for 'wasting the valuable time of the court'.

The court agreed with Attorney General Milon Banerjee and senior advocate Ram Jethmalani who had contended that any tampering with the original script of the anthem would lead to its distortion and a great deal of discontent among the large population of Sindhis in India and abroad.

Justice Lahoti, writing for the Bench, said, "National anthem is the representative of the ethos of the country. Any classic, once created, becomes immortal and inalienable; even its creator may not like making changes into it."

It added, "Any tampering with the script of the poem would be showing disrespect to the great poet Rabindranath Tagore."

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SC reserves verdict on anthem, Jethmalani bats for 'Sindh'