The court observed that Section 31 of the Karnataka Police Act provides power to the police to frame regulations for the purpose of traffic and preservation of order in public places.
Published Oct 19, 2025 | 11:45 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 19, 2025 | 2:43 PM
Karnataka High Court. (Creative Commons)
Synopsis: The Karnataka High Court refused to pass any interim order on a petition filed by the convenor of RSS in Kalaburagi seeking direction to the respondent authorities to grant permission for the organisation to conduct a flag march in Chittapur.
The Karnataka High Court on Sunday, 19 October, refused to pass any interim order on a petition filed by the convenor of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Kalaburagi seeking direction to the respondent authorities to grant permission for the organisation to conduct a flag march on the same day in Chittapur.
RSS filed the petition after the state government denied permission to hold the flag march in the district, anticipating “chaos” since the Bhim Army also planned a march on the same route on Sunday. The petition was heard by a single-judge bench of Justice MGS Kamal.
The court observed that Section 31 of the Karnataka Police Act provides power to the police to frame regulations for the purpose of traffic and preservation of order in public places.
It also referred to the Supreme Court’s judgement in Himat Lal vs Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad, wherein it held that reasonable regulations do not mean arbitrary exclusion.
The senior counsel who appeared for the petitioner also submitted that the organisation (RSS) is conscious of the maintenance of harmony and law and order.
“As of today (Sunday), 250 route marches have been held across the state and no untoward incident has happened,” the counsel said.
When the court asked for an alternate date since a parallel march was planned on the same day by a Dalit organisation, petitioners also suggested 2 November.
However, the high court deferred the decision on the petition, directing the petitioners to submit an amended application with route details to the authorities, who must report back by 23 October, while taking note of the observations made by the court.
“We have to accommodate everyone’s sentiments. We will pass a detailed order on 23 October, considering all the details that they (petitioners) provide,” the court said.
The Dalit organisation sought permission to hold a parallel march to the RSS’s planned march in Chittapur on Sunday, in support of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge, who faced cyberbullying and death threats following his call for a ban on RSS activities on public properties, including school premises.
The office of the tehsildar and taluka executive magistrate in the Kalaburai district issued the letter on Saturday and said chaos is anticipated if both the RSS and the Bhim Army hold parallel marches on the same route on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra criticised the state government for its refusal to give a nod to an RSS rally. He said the action is “reminiscent of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un’s administration.”
“The Congress government is planning to impose an emergency-style regime in the state and has made Chittapur a laboratory for it,” he further said in a post on X. The BJP leader accused state Congress leader Priyank Kharge of creating a “stifling atmosphere” in Chittapur in a way that “mocks the spirit of the Constitution and the democratic system created by Ambedkar.”
“If the conditions imposed for permission for processions and programs are applied to the state, a situation will be created where there will be no scope for any cultural and patriotic programs to be held in any corner of Karnataka,” he claimed.
Responding to the BJP, Minister Priyank Kharge questioned whether abusing the MLA of a constituency was the culture of the Sangh parivar.
“You abuse a public representative, you abuse an MLA of the place, and you want to do a march in the same place?” Kharge asked while speaking to reporters about the RSS rally. He further asked the Sangh parivar, “Is this your culture?”
Kharge alleged that the RSS had not sought proper permission for the rally but had only given a letter “for information” with details of where they planned to conduct the rally.
Speaking about the Karnataka High Court hearing, Kharge said the state has the duty to make reasonable decisions after assessing ground realities. “But not today, we have already reported that the environment is not favourable,” he said.
He acknowledged that everyone has the right to organise, be it the BJP, Congress, RSS, Dalit groups, etc, but the law and order situation has to be kept in mind.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil with inputs from Anisha Reddy.)
