The Madras High Court has instructed both the police and the RSS to finalise the route march details in accordance with the guidelines established by this Court in its order dated January 5, 2023. They are to report to this Court on September 30, 2024, at 2:15 p.m.
Tirupur RSS mandal secretary M Jothiprakash and K Sethuraj, joint secretary RSS in Dindigul have filed petitions in Madras High Court seeking a direction from police. They appealed to the court to direct the police to allow them to hold the annual route marches on October 6 to celebrate Vijayadasami at 58 locations across the state. The petition came up before Justice G Jayachandran.
The petitioners’ counsel argued that their request aligns with a High Court directive from January 5, which provided guidelines for conducting such rallies. The petitioners stated that, despite submitting applications for permission in accordance with these guidelines, the police have not acted on them. They emphasised that permission is required a week in advance of the route marches. After hearing both sides, the judge scheduled the matter for further hearing on the September 24 and granted time to consider the applications submitted by the petitioners.
When the matter came up for hearing on September 26, the judge in his order said, “The learned Senior Counsels appearing for some of the writ petitioners today reported that Yesterday late night, the representations have been rejected on the flimsy reasons just to reject the request and circumvent the earlier orders of this Court and the Hon’ble Supreme Court passed in this matter”.
The judge said that the Government Advocate (Crl.Side) submitted that some of the basic particulars, such as starting and ending point of the route march, number of participants, space for parking vehicles were not provided in the representation, and that is the reason for rejecting the representation.”
Justice Jayachandran said, “this Court finds that for the reasons mentioned, the representations ought not to have been rejected. As already observed by this Court in the earlier judgment, dated September 22, 2022, the Station Officer or the higher officials could have called the organiser to provide necessary details and completed the process of granting permission without rejecting it outright. In any event, the learned Senior Counsels appearing for the petitioners state that wherever the rejection order issued, they have already provided the information sought by the police.”
The court has directed that the representatives of the petitioners shall meet the concerned police officers on September 27, 2024, and provide particulars required by the respondent police. The details about the route march shall be finalised by following the guidelines framed by this Court vide order dated January 5, 2023, and report to this Court on September 30, 2024, at 02.15 PM and posted the same for the September 30 afternoon.
The judge also made it clear that this direction was not only for the petitioner who had approached this Court but also for all applicants of the organisations who had sought permission for a route march, and the request had not yet been considered or rejected.
Meanwhile, TN BJP condemned the Tamil Nadu Government’s attempt to ban the RSS rally and public meeting across the state on Vijayadashami is a blatant violation of Indian constitution and democratic principles. In a statement, spokesperson ANS Prasad said “this move comes despite the High Court and Supreme Court orders permitting the rally. The police, under the DMK Government, initially denied permission by citing flimsy grounds”.
He said “RSS, a premier service organisation, has been tirelessly working for the nation’s progress and Hindu unity since its inception in 1925. As it prepares to celebrate its centenary in 2025, the Tamil Nadu Government’s actions reveal its anti-Hindu and anti-people agenda. The RSS ideology of ‘Ekathma Manava Darshan’ guides global unity, progress, and humanitarian values”.
TN BJP said, “DMK Government has consistently suppressed Hindu organizations and sentiments, and its police department has been instrumental in this agenda. This move to ban the RSS rally is another example of the Government’s authoritarianism and disregard for constitutional rights. The Tamil Nadu Government’s actions are undemocratic and against the principles of freedom of speech and assembly”.
Pointing out, he said, “RSS has a proven track record of conducting peaceful rallies, and this year’s event, held across 58 locations in Tamil Nadu, was no exception. RSS’s community service, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic and floods, has earned it widespread acclaim”. Prasad said, “Chief Minister intervene and uphold democratic principles by instructing police to grant permission. This would demonstrate the Government’s commitment to protecting democracy and upholding constitutional rights”.
