The petitioners said that they had previously filed petitions and that the high court had, on 16 October, directed the authorities to grant permission.
Published Nov 02, 2023 | 12:00 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 02, 2023 | 12:00 PM
High Court of Madras. (Creative Commons)
On Wednesday, 1 November, the Madras High Court issued a notice to the Tamil Nadu Home Secretary and Director General of Police (DGP) to appear before the court in connection with a contempt of court case relating to the RSS route march.
Justice G Jayachandran ordered the notice based on the contempt petitions filed by R Thiagarajan alias Suresh, and four others, which sought to punish the officials for disobeying a court order dated 16 October 2023.
The judge posted the hearing of the case after four weeks.
According to the petitioners, they had submitted applications on 13 September 2023 to conduct the route march of the RSS on 22 October 2023, on account of the birth centenary of Bharat Ratna Dr Ambedkar and Vijayadashami, and take out processions at various parts of the state.
The police had sent a questionnaire seeking answers and they had replied to the same, they added.
The petitioners said, thereafter, that they had filed petitions and the high court had, on 16 October, directed the authorities to grant permission.
The petitioners claimed that despite knowing the judgement, the authorities did not grant permission to the petitioners. In spite of a specific direction by the court, the authorities have deliberately disobeyed the directions issued by the high court, the petitioners stated.
The authorities have willfully disobeyed the directions issued by this court and have committed contempt by not issuing permission to conduct a route march on 22 October 2023, they claimed.
The authorities have been repeatedly disobeying the judgements of the Division Bench of this court and also the Supreme Court, intentionally, thereby committing contempt, they added.
The Madras High Court, on 10 February, permitted the RSS to take out its route march in Tamil Nadu on rescheduled dates and observed that protests are essential for a healthy democracy.
Setting aside the order passed on 4 November 2022 by a single judge that had imposed conditions on the proposed statewide route march — asking the RSS to hold the march indoors or in an enclosed space — the court restored the order dated 22 September 2022, which directed the Tamil Nadu police to consider the RSS’s representation seeking permission to conduct the march and a public meeting, as well, and to grant permission.
In September 2022, the Madras High Court said that it would direct the Tamil Nadu Police to grant permission for the saffron organisation’s proposed route march on 2 October 2022 at 50 locations across the state, but it also imposed certain conditions.
The conditions included not singing songs or speaking ill of any individuals, caste, religion etc. Participants should also not indulge in any act disturbing the sovereignty and integrity of the country.
They are also prohibited from bringing any sticks, lathis, or weapons that might cause injury to anyone.
The court also said that participants of the march should not — in any manner — offend the sentiments of any religious, linguistic, cultural, and other groups, further warning that the programme should not create any hindrance to the public or traffic.
When the issue was taken up to the apex court, the Tamil Nadu government had told the court that it was not entirely opposed to the RSS conducting its programmes, including route marches, but insisted that certain conditions and prohibitions be followed in sensitive areas in the wake of the ban on the People Front of India (PFI) and bomb blasts.
The Supreme Court on 11 April, rejected the Tamil Nadu government’s appeal against the Madras High Court’s order permitting the RSS to hold its public programmes, including route marches, in open areas in the state.
Pronouncing the order — that paved the way for the RSS to go ahead with its public programmes and route marches across the state — a bench of Justice V Ramasubramanian and Justice Pankaj Mithal, in an order said, “All appeals dismissed.”
(With PTI inputs)
