Padma awards
The late E.M.S. Namoodiripad said no to then prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao's offer of a Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award, saying the party does not accept state awards. The CPM's Laxmi Sehgal had also refused her freedom fighters' pension and a Padma award.
In 2002, danseuse Sitara Devi refused to accept the Padma Bhushan, saying she would not accept any award less than the Bharat Ratna.
Sitar maestro Ustad Vilayat Khan refused the Padma Shri and the Padma Vibhushan awards in 1964 and 1968, saying the awards committee was incompetent to judge artistic creativity

National Film Awards
In 2006, documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan filed a petition in the Bombay High Court challenging the entry criteria for the awards, which does not allow films without a censor certificate.
Last year, jury member Sahyamli Banerjee Dev alleged that the 2005 awards were “fixed” and that Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black did not qualify for the best film award since it was an adaptation of the English feature film The Miracle Worker of 1962.
Raveena Tandon's best actress award for Daaman in 2001 kicked up a row when jury member Pradeep Krishnan resigned objecting to the presence of Tandon's uncle on the jury.

Sports awards
l In 2001, Milkha Singh refused an Arjuna award for "lifetime achievement", saying the award had come too late. He objected to being "clubbed" with two women athletes, Rachna Govil and Vijaymala Bhanot, who had had little international success.
In 2003, ace shooter Anjali Bhagwat slammed the Arjuna Awards committee for nominating athlete K.M. Beenamol for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award ahead of her, saying its decision showed that performance was not the only criterion for the award.

Elsewhere
Former British prime minister Tony Blair was accused of offering honours for cash after four people he nominated were found to have made substantial loans to the party ahead of the election. In December 2006, he became the first serving prime minister to be questioned by police as part of a criminal investigation.
The Sri Lankan Government's decision in 1996 to bestow the highest national honour—equivalent to the English knighthood—on the entire Sri Lankan team, including the reserves, was criticised.
In 2000, the British Queen presented the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) with the George Cross, the highest civilian award for bravery. But republicans described the award as “offensive”, saying members of their community had suffered at the hands of the RUC.