PoliticsTamil Nadu
'What is so exceptional for 2026?' Madras High Court presses state on RSS march refusal
Justice V Lakshminarayanan said the state was treating citizens as enemies by refusing processions. The RSS wants to march on 18 October or later dates.
Key points
- Justice V Lakshminarayanan asked the state why it refused the RSS when courts allow the marches every year.
- The RSS member's plea seeks permission for route marches on 18 October, 25 October or 1 November.
- The petitioners were asked to meet the State Public Prosecutor, and the case returns on Thursday.
The Madras High Court on Wednesday sharply questioned the Tamil Nadu government’s refusal to allow the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to hold route marches this month, saying the state appeared to see its own citizens as a threat.
“Every year they (RSS) are coming (seeking permission for rallies), every year, court is granting,” Justice V Lakshminarayanan said. “What is so exceptional for 2026?”
The plea
The petition, by RSS member V G Jagadeesan, asks the court to direct police to consider his representation and permit route marches with uniforms and a band, followed by a public meeting, on 18 October, 25 October, 1 November or other dates. The organisation wants to mark its founding day, which falls on Vijayadashami.
Senior advocate N L Rajah, for the petitioner, said police had cited law and order. He argued that the court’s earlier procession guidelines were not rigid statutory rules, that police should ask for clarifications instead of rejecting applications, and objected to references to mosques along the proposed routes in the rejection orders. He also asked what smaller groups without the means to come to court were supposed to do.
The state’s answer
The Advocate General said permission was refused because the RSS had sought a march and meeting at a place not notified for public meetings, and pointed to the load on police during the festive season and inconvenience to the public.
The judge was unconvinced. “Has there been any violence so far in their march?” he asked. “State is looking at citizens as enemies, what to do?” He said that whichever party was in power, the answer was always a refusal, and that the government was denying permission to the Dravidar Kazhagam as well as the RSS.
“Pass a legislation saying no person will be entitled to take a procession or a march,” he told the state, if it was determined to refuse. “Why are you doing this? Unnecessary litigation.”
The court asked five members from the petitioner’s side to meet State Public Prosecutor John Sathyan on Wednesday afternoon to work out a way to hold the event peacefully, and asked the state for a report. The hearing continues on Thursday.