The Madras High Court has paved the way for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to conduct route marches and public meetings in Tamil Nadu on October 25 and November 1, 2026, subject to modifications suggested by police authorities in the respective districts based on local conditions.
Justice V. Lakshminarayanan passed the order while disposing of a writ petition filed by RSS State Secretary V.G. Jagadeesan, who sought directions to the Director General of Police (DGP) to instruct police commissioners and superintendents of police across the State to grant permission for the proposed marches.
The Court observed that despite earlier judicial orders and guidelines intended to prevent repeated litigation, the police continued to reject applications on grounds that had already been disapproved by the Court.
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“The police must not behave like Procrustes. They should not search the applications for its rejection by placing it on the same bed as they have done all these years. An attempt must be made to process the applications and approve them rather than looking for defects for its rejection,” Justice Lakshminarayanan observed.
The case arose after the RSS State Secretary sought permission from the Tamil Nadu DGP to conduct route marches followed by public meetings on October 18, 25 and November 1, 2026. Local police rejected similar applications citing traffic congestion, potential law-and-order issues, loudspeaker use and the presence of places of worship and a rationalist leader’s statue along the proposed routes. Despite earlier court orders and guidelines framed in January 2024 to streamline permissions, the rejections led the RSS to approach the Madras High Court again.
Justice Lakshminarayanan noted that the police had continued to rely on grounds that the High Court had previously held insufficient to reject RSS route-march applications, including the presence of religious structures or institutions with differing views along the proposed routes. The Court remarked that the guidelines intended to streamline permissions were instead being used to deny them.
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“It is a classic case of using the scalpel not for the purpose of operation, but to kill the patient on whom the operation is said to be performed,” the Court observed.
The Court further noted that earlier judicial interventions had sought to resolve the issue and reduce unnecessary litigation, but the matter had returned to court because the permissions were again denied.
RSS agrees to comply with conditions
During the hearing, the State’s Advocate General informed the Court that the proposed marches scheduled for October 25 and November 1 could proceed, subject to modifications suggested by the police based on local conditions.
The petitioner was also directed to provide details of the proposed marches, the organisers and their contact information, the expected number of participants, and the venue for the public meeting following the procession. An undertaking was filed stating that the organisers and participants would comply with the conditions imposed by the Court and that the organisation would not indulge in untoward incidents and would maintain law and order.
The Court directed the organisers to provide advance information to the police, including the programme schedule and contact details, and said the police could seek clarification wherever necessary.
The Court expressed hope that the police would not reject future applications in a manner that forces the organisers to approach the judiciary repeatedly. It also stressed that permission should not be delayed until the last moment and directed that the time and venue of the meeting be communicated by October 19, 2026.
The writ petition was accordingly disposed of.
