diff --git a/middleware/InterfacePlayerRDK.cpp b/middleware/InterfacePlayerRDK.cpp
index 51e956ef0..a7d138b24 100644
--- a/middleware/InterfacePlayerRDK.cpp
+++ b/middleware/InterfacePlayerRDK.cpp
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ total_bytes(0), n_audio(0), current_audio(0),
 periodicProgressCallbackIdleTaskId(GST_TASK_ID_INVALID),
 bufferingTimeoutTimerId(GST_TASK_ID_INVALID), video_dec(NULL), audio_dec(NULL), TaskControlMutex(), firstProgressCallbackIdleTask("FirstProgressCallback"),
 video_sink(NULL), audio_sink(NULL), subtitle_sink(NULL), task_pool(NULL),
-rate(GST_NORMAL_PLAY_RATE), zoom(GST_VIDEO_ZOOM_NONE), videoMuted(false), audioMuted(false), volumeMuteMutex(), subtitleMuted(false),
+rate(GST_NORMAL_PLAY_RATE), zoom(GST_VIDEO_ZOOM_NONE), videoMuted(false), audioMuted(false), volumeMuteMutex(), subtitleMuted(true),
 audioVolume(1.0), eosCallbackIdleTaskId(GST_TASK_ID_INVALID), eosCallbackIdleTaskPending(false),
 firstFrameReceived(false), pendingPlayState(false), decoderHandleNotified(false),
 firstFrameCallbackIdleTaskId(GST_TASK_ID_INVALID), firstFrameCallbackIdleTaskPending(false),
diff --git a/test/utests/tests/AampGstPlayer/CMakeLists.txt b/test/utests/tests/AampGstPlayer/CMakeLists.txt
index 58ee49a86..f385fec8a 100644
--- a/test/utests/tests/AampGstPlayer/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/test/utests/tests/AampGstPlayer/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ message(GSTREAMER_INCLUDE_DIRS=${GSTREAMER_INCLUDE_DIRS})
 set(TEST_SOURCES FunctionalTests.cpp
 		 PauseOnPlaybackTests.cpp
 		 AampGstPlayerTests.cpp
+		 DefaultSubtitleMuteTests.cpp
 	)
 
 set(AAMP_SOURCES ${AAMP_ROOT}/aampgstplayer.cpp
diff --git a/test/utests/tests/AampGstPlayer/DefaultSubtitleMuteTests.cpp b/test/utests/tests/AampGstPlayer/DefaultSubtitleMuteTests.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3efb2d765
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/utests/tests/AampGstPlayer/DefaultSubtitleMuteTests.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+/*
+ * If not stated otherwise in this file or this component's license file the
+ * following copyright and licenses apply:
+ *
+ * Copyright 2024 RDK Management
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+#include <gtest/gtest.h>
+#include <gmock/gmock.h>
+#include "middleware/InterfacePlayerRDK.h"
+#include "middleware/InterfacePlayerPriv.h"
+using ::testing::_;
+/**
+ * @brief Test fixture for default subtitle mute state
+ * 
+ * This test suite validates that the default subtitle/CC rendering behavior
+ * is correctly initialized and applied when the subtitle sink is created.
+ */
+class DefaultSubtitleMuteTests : public ::testing::Test
+{
+protected:
+	InterfacePlayerRDK *mInterfacePlayerRDK{};
+	void SetUp() override
+	{
+		// Create a fresh InterfacePlayerRDK instance
+		mInterfacePlayerRDK = new InterfacePlayerRDK();
+	}
+	void TearDown() override
+	{
+		delete mInterfacePlayerRDK;
+		mInterfacePlayerRDK = nullptr;
+	}
+};
+/**
+ * @brief Test that GstPlayerPriv::subtitleMuted defaults to true
+ * 
+ * This test verifies that subtitles start in a muted state by default,
+ * ensuring CC/WebVTT rendering is disabled unless explicitly enabled by the user.
+ * 
+ * Related to VPLAY-12061: Closed captioning issues after introducing webvTT 
+ * along with inBand CC tracks. The fix disables webvtt rendering by default.
+ */
+TEST_F(DefaultSubtitleMuteTests, GstPlayerPriv_DefaultSubtitleMutedState_IsTrue)
+{
+	// Verify that the default state of subtitleMuted is true
+	ASSERT_TRUE(mInterfacePlayerRDK->interfacePlayerPriv->gstPrivateContext->subtitleMuted);
+}
+/**
+ * @brief Test that default subtitle mute state prevents rendering
+ * 
+ * This test ensures that when subtitles are muted by default, they remain
+ * muted until explicitly unmuted by the application, preventing unexpected
+ * subtitle rendering behavior.
+ */
+TEST_F(DefaultSubtitleMuteTests, GstPlayerPriv_DefaultState_PreventsSubtitleRendering)
+{
+	// Given: Fresh InterfacePlayerRDK instance with default state
+	auto *gstPriv = mInterfacePlayerRDK->interfacePlayerPriv->gstPrivateContext;
+	
+	// Then: Subtitle mute should be enabled (true)
+	EXPECT_TRUE(gstPriv->subtitleMuted);
+	
+	// And: Video and audio mute should be disabled (false) by default
+	EXPECT_FALSE(gstPriv->videoMuted);
+	EXPECT_FALSE(gstPriv->audioMuted);
+}
+/**
+ * @brief Test that SetSubtitleMute correctly updates the state
+ * 
+ * This test validates that the SetSubtitleMute method properly updates
+ * the internal subtitleMuted state, which is used when creating the
+ * subtitle sink to set its initial mute property.
+ */
+TEST_F(DefaultSubtitleMuteTests, SetSubtitleMute_UpdatesInternalState_Correctly)
+{
+	auto *gstPriv = mInterfacePlayerRDK->interfacePlayerPriv->gstPrivateContext;
+	
+	// Initially should be muted (true)
+	ASSERT_TRUE(gstPriv->subtitleMuted);
+	
+	// When: Unmuting subtitles
+	mInterfacePlayerRDK->SetSubtitleMute(false);
+	
+	// Then: Internal state should be updated
+	EXPECT_FALSE(gstPriv->subtitleMuted);
+	
+	// When: Re-muting subtitles
+	mInterfacePlayerRDK->SetSubtitleMute(true);
+	
+	// Then: Internal state should reflect muted again
+	EXPECT_TRUE(gstPriv->subtitleMuted);
+}
+/**
+ * @brief Test initial state consistency across player lifecycle
+ * 
+ * This test ensures that creating multiple InterfacePlayerRDK instances
+ * consistently initializes subtitleMuted to true, preventing state pollution
+ * between different player instances.
+ */
+TEST_F(DefaultSubtitleMuteTests, MultipleInstances_ConsistentDefaultState)
+{
+	// Create multiple instances and verify consistent default state
+	InterfacePlayerRDK *player1 = new InterfacePlayerRDK();
+	InterfacePlayerRDK *player2 = new InterfacePlayerRDK();
+	InterfacePlayerRDK *player3 = new InterfacePlayerRDK();
+	
+	// All instances should have subtitles muted by default
+	EXPECT_TRUE(player1->interfacePlayerPriv->gstPrivateContext->subtitleMuted);
+	EXPECT_TRUE(player2->interfacePlayerPriv->gstPrivateContext->subtitleMuted);
+	EXPECT_TRUE(player3->interfacePlayerPriv->gstPrivateContext->subtitleMuted);
+	
+	// Clean up
+	delete player1;
+	delete player2;
+	delete player3;
+}