New Delhi, Dec. 12: New rules for preserving national honour are in place.

Parliament today gave its final nod to the much-debated National Honour (Amendment) Bill and the State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Bill, 2005.

Approved by the Lok Sabha earlier, the bills were passed by voice vote in the upper House today.

Sporting national emblems on clothes below the waist and on undergarments will now be a punishable offence. The bills also prohibit embroidery of national emblems on pillow covers and handkerchiefs.

Sportspersons, however, can wear them on caps, T-shirts and blazers.

The parliamentary standing committee on home affairs had earlier said the display of the Tricolour on sports gear enhances the respect of the flag.

A national flag committee constituted in October 2000 recommended the enactment of separate legislation to regulate the use of emblems.

Restricting its use was demotivating for both the players and the public, it had added.

The committee had blamed the absence of a legislative framework for the misuse of national emblems.

The Centre felt the need for the legislation to check the improper use of emblems by people, including retired government officials and public servants. Questions were also raised on the use of national emblems by some state governments against the spirit of the Constitution.