Madras High Court Gives Nod To RSS Route March Proposed For Sunday, Says State Flouted Order Laying Down Guidelines For Future Marches

A single judge bench of Justice G Jayachandran permitted the route marches to be carried out as per the earlier guidelines issued by the High Court in January this year for conducting the route marches. The court had also commented that despite detailed guidelines of the court previously, the government had flouted the orders forcing the organisers to approach the court again.

“Unfortunately, the spirit of the judgment and the observation of this court that the said guidelines were to be followed in future, were flouted the very next year which has resulted in the present batch of petitions,” the court said.

The court also orally remarked that the police were expected to protect the public as well as the organisers and could not avoid giving permissions for such permissions for route marches citing law and order problems. The court said that it expected the police in the state to follow the court orders at least in the future and not trouble the court by inventing new and fanciful reasons for rejection.

“As stated earlier, in view of the rejection of permission to the RSS route march every year and the court intervention, this court as well as the Supreme Court in the previous round of litigation with find hope, observed that the guidelines issued should be followed scrupulously by the police and the organisers and there should not be any need to approach the court in the future. However, it appears that the same was only a visual thinking. At least in future, this court hopes that guidelines issued by this court in its order dated January 5, 2024 are followed and police will not trouble the court inventing new and fanciful reasons for rejection,” the court said.

The petitioners had approached the court after the State rejected permission for a route march in the State on October 6. The petitioners argued that their request was in line with the earlier orders of the court but despite this, the state had rejected their applications. The State however informed that the applications were rejected as it lacked some information like the starting & ending point of the march, parking space, etc. The court, however had asked the state to reconsider the applications.

After reconsider, 42 applications were allowed and 16 were rejected. The petitioners argued that though in the face of it, the permission appeared to be in accordance with the court order, it was a violation of the order by imposing an untenable condition that is not permissible and acceptable. The court had thereafter asked the government advocate to verify whether the permission was granted with the colorable exercise of power.

The court had also questioned the State's denial for the route march when it had recently permitted a march to commemorate 75 years of the DMK party. The court had warned the state to not test its patience and said that if the State did not comply with its previous orders, it would amount to contempt of court.

The court thus asked the State to permit the route marches as sought for. In some areas, like Mangaadu and Korattur, the court noted that the school, where the meeting was proposed to be held had not consented to the same. The organizers, however, submitted that they would produce the letters by the school or suggest a different place for the meeting and the same could be considered.

In Medavakkam and Tambaram areas where the State had objected to the route march citing traffic issues due to ongoing metro work, the court asked the organizers to provide an alternative route that will not cover the metro route.

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Mad) 371

Case Title: K Sethuraj v State of Tamil Nadu (and other connected cases)

Case No: WP 27983 of 2024