The Madras High Court has directed Tamil Nadu police to process applications for RSS route marches with a presumption towards approval rather than routinely searching for grounds to reject them, while recording that processions scheduled for October 25 and November 1 may proceed subject to conditions set by district authorities.
Justice V Lakshminarayanan criticised what he described as the police’s repeated use of the same reasons to deny permission. The judge said the police should not “behave like Procrustes” by forcing applications into a predetermined framework for rejection, according to the report.
The court said guidelines had already been framed for handling the issue in proceedings before both the high court and the Supreme Court. It observed that the same guidelines appeared to be used to reject applications rather than to process and regulate them.
Describing the approach as “a classic case of using the scalpel not for operation, but to kill the patient on whom the operation is said to be performed”, the court said an attempt should be made to approve applications after addressing legitimate concerns. The judge also noted that Tamil Nadu police had not offered novel reasons for rejection, but had consistently relied on grounds that the court had previously found inadequate.
The court recorded the submission of the advocate-general that the October 25 and November 1 processions could take place, subject to modifications suggested by police authorities in the districts based on local conditions. The order therefore leaves district police with responsibility for determining operational conditions while requiring them to work within the judicially framed guidelines.
The organisers were directed to file an affidavit confirming that they would strictly comply with the conditions imposed by the authorities. The requirement places a formal obligation on the organisers alongside the police’s responsibility to process the applications in accordance with the court’s directions.
The court referred to the hope expressed by the Supreme Court in 2023 and reiterated by the high court when it framed guidelines and disposed of the earlier writ petition. It said that hope had been “rekindled” and expressed the expectation that police authorities would not reject applications in a manner that forced organisers to return to court. The next operational step is for the organisers to submit the required affidavit and for district police authorities to communicate any local conditions or modifications.
