Madras HC: Clears RSS Marches Across Tamil Nadu

• The Madras High Court has granted permission for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to conduct route marches at 128 locations across Tamil Nadu on October 25 and November 1.
• Justice V Lakshminarayanan criticized the Tamil Nadu Police for repeatedly citing previously rejected "lame" reasons for denying permission.
• The court reiterated that the constitutional right to freedom of association under Article 19(1)(b) cannot be curtailed by the Tamil Nadu Police Act.
• Police were directed to finalize march timings, routes, and venues by October 19 and to process applications for approval rather than seeking defects.
• This ruling follows a long history of litigation, including a Supreme Court directive for the High Court to frame guidelines to prevent such disputes.

The court emphasized that applications for public gatherings should be processed for approval, not scrutinized with the intent to find defects, likening the misuse of established guidelines to employing a scalpel to harm rather than to heal.

The Madras High Court has granted permission for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to proceed with its planned route marches across 128 locations in Tamil Nadu. These marches are scheduled to take place on two separate dates: October 25 and November 1. The court, in its ruling, also issued a strong rebuke to the Tamil Nadu Police for consistently presenting grounds for rejection that had previously been dismissed as "

Lawyers advising organizations on public assembly permits should note this ruling as a strong precedent against arbitrary police rejections based on previously dismissed grounds, reinforcing the constitutional right to association. It underscores that police must process applications for approval, not seek defects, and provides a basis to challenge rejections that do not adhere to established guidelines or court directives.

Source: Original reporting via Live Law