Chennai, October 14, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Madras High Court on Wednesday questioned the Tamil Nadu government’s refusal to grant permission for a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) route march and directed the parties to work towards a peaceful solution for conducting the procession and a public meeting.
Hearing a petition seeking permission for the event, Justice V. Lakshminarayanan orally criticised the repeated rejection of applications for processions, observing that such decisions compelled organisations to approach the court and led to avoidable litigation.
The judge noted that permission had been denied to organisations across the ideological spectrum, including the Dravidar Kazhagam and the RSS. He questioned why RSS route marches faced restrictions in Tamil Nadu when such events were permitted even in Jammu and Kashmir.
In further oral observations, the judge remarked that the state appeared to treat citizens as enemies when they sought permission to organise protests and processions. He also observed that the RSS continued to face refusals irrespective of which government was in power.
The petition was filed by RSS member V.G. Jagadeesan, who sought directions to the police to consider his representation seeking permission to hold route marches on October 18, October 25, November 1, or another suitable date.
The proposed programme involves participants marching in uniform, accompanied by a musical band, followed by a public meeting.
Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate N.L. Rajah submitted that the organisation faced similar difficulties every year despite seeking to celebrate its foundation day, which coincides with Vijayadashami. He argued that the police routinely cited potential law and order problems to reject applications.
Rajah also questioned how smaller organisations, which lacked the resources to pursue prolonged litigation, could obtain permission if they faced similar refusals.
Advocate General Vijaya Narayan, representing the state, submitted that permission had been denied because the proposed venue was not a notified location for holding public meetings.
The court directed five representatives from the petitioners’ side to meet State Public Prosecutor John Sathyan to work out arrangements for conducting the programme peacefully.
Adjourning the hearing to Thursday, the court asked the state government to submit a report on arrangements for permitting a peaceful procession.
The dispute follows earlier judicial guidelines governing RSS route marches. Permission was denied in 2024 as well, prompting litigation. While allowing the marches that year, the court had directed the police to protect organisers and the public, comply with judicial directions and refrain from inventing law and order grounds to reject applications.
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