Madras HC allows RSS route marches on Oct 25, Nov 1; slams TN police over repeated rejections

The Madras High Court on Friday permitted the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to hold its annual route marches across Tamil Nadu on October 25 and November 1, criticising the state police for repeatedly rejecting applications on grounds the court had already disapproved.

Justice V Lakshminarayanan directed the police to coordinate with RSS organisers and finalise the timings and locations of the marches and subsequent public meetings by Monday.

“One thing must be said to the credit of the Tamil Nadu police. They have not come up with any novel reasons for rejection. They have consistently given the very reasons which this Court found as lame,” Justice Lakshminarayanan said.

The Court was hearing a petition by RSS North Tamil Nadu secretary VG Jagadeesan. Jagadeesan**, through** senior advocate NL Rajah, had challenged police orders denying permission for the organisation’s annual route marches and public meetings as part of its Vijayadashami celebrations.

The RSS had sought permission for processions on October 18, 25, and November 1 as alternative dates. The state police rejected the applications**,** citing places of worship belonging to other communities along the proposed routes, statues of rationalist leaders, traffic congestion, loudspeakers and possible law and order problems.

The Court said that it had considered and disapproved these grounds in earlier proceedings.

It said that the RSS had been moving the Court for permission for route marches since 2022. It referred to its previous decisions recognising the RSS’s right to conduct route marches, subject to lawful restrictions. The High Court also cited a 2023 order passed by one of its benches, which said that public roads remain secular spaces accessible to everyone irrespective of religion, caste or creed.

“It is a classic case of using a scalpel, not for the purpose of an operation, but to kill the patient on whom the operation is sought to be performed,” the High Court said.

During the hearing, Advocate General Vijay Narayan told the court that the state agreed to permit the marches on October 25 and November 1, subject to modifications suggested by local police authorities based on prevailing conditions.

The RSS furnished details of the proposed routes, organisers, participant numbers and venues for public meetings. The court directed that these details form part of its order and recorded the organisation’s undertaking to comply with conditions imposed in earlier judicial proceedings.

The Court said that police authorities must help applicants meet procedural requirements instead of looking for reasons to reject their requests. It also urged the RSS to submit applications sufficiently in advance and expressed hope that repeated disputes over route marches would no longer occupy the Court’s time.