HC reserves order in RSS’ appeal to conduct rallies on open premises

CHENNAI: A division bench of Madras High Court on Tuesday reserved its orders in an appeal filed by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to conduct route marches across the state in open premises.

The bench of Justice R Mahadevan and Justice Mohamed Shaffiq reserved orders on hearing the batch of writ appeals filed by the RSS challenging the order of a single judge directing the saffron outfit to conduct its processions only in the closed premises.

RSS' counsel submitted that firstly, the HC granted permission to conduct the rallies in open places but it took a different stand when his clients filed a contempt petition against the police for not complying with the order of a single judge. "It was erroneous to direct us to conduct the procession in closed premises," RSS submitted, adding, "when the State government has been saying that TN is a garden of peace, police cannot deny us the permission on law and order grounds."

"Though police denied permission to RSS, at the same time, more than 500 rallies were allowed for several organizations," the RSS submitted.

Countering such submission, the State and police informed the court that they were not rallies and just protests. "A request of Dravida Thotta Thozhilalar Sangam of Valparai to conduct a rally from Valparai to Coimbatore was also rejected by the police," the state argued.

The police also pointed out that the decision was made on the basis of the intelligence report. "The State government is working to ensure that TN continues as the garden of peace. After the PFI ban, 50000 policemen have been deployed for the protection of RSS functionaries and members. If representation was made, the police will consider the same and make a decision as per the law," the police noted.

Recording the submissions, the bench reserved orders and adjourned the case without mentioning any date.