At present there are no officially recognised flags for individual
states and union territories of India. No legal prohibitions to prevent states adopting distinctive flags exist in either the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 or the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. In a 1994 case before the
Supreme Court of India,
S. R. Bommai v. Union of India, the Supreme Court declared that there is no prohibition in the Constitution of India for a state to have its own flag. However, a state flag should not dishonour the national flag. The
Flag code of India also permits other flags to be flown with the
Flag of India, but not on the same flag pole or in a superior position to the national flag.
Former official state flags The state of
Jammu and Kashmir had an officially recognised state flag between 1952 and 2019 under the special status granted to the state by
Article 370 of the Constitution of India.
Proposed state flags Flags have been proposed for Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, but neither were officially adopted.
Banners of the states and union territories When a distinctive banner is required to represent a state or union territory, the
emblem of the state or union territory is usually displayed on a white or blue field. == Historical flags ==