The Supreme Court on Friday (January 5) rejected a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) related to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. The court dismissed the petition, stating that leaders like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose are "immortal" and do not require recognition through judicial orders.

The petition requested instructions to declare Bose as the "National Son" and sought an apology from the Congress for understating his role in the Indian independence struggle and not revealing the truth about his disappearance or death.

Justices Suryakant and KV Vishwanathan said, "Issuing a judicial order to acknowledge Bose's role in the country's independence struggle would be inappropriate because leaders like him do not need recognition from the court. Who doesn't know leaders like Netaji? Everyone in the country knows him and his contributions. Leaders like him are immortal."

It is worth mentioning that this PIL was filed by Pinak Pani Mohanty in Cuttack. He requested the court to declare that the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) under Bose's leadership achieved independence from British rule. The petition raised questions about the Congress' role in acknowledging Bose's contributions and alleged that Congress had hidden files related to his disappearance/death. The petition also demanded that the central government declare Bose's birthday on January 23 as "National Day" and declare Netaji as the "National Son."

Referring to the 1997 verdict, the bench told Mohanty, "You should not raise issues related to Bose's disappearance or death. These matters were already dealt with by this court in 1997. You should have read that verdict before bringing up such issues here. If you want the government to take action, you should contact the appropriate authorities."