No RSS rally in Tamil Nadu on Gandhi Jayanti, but court asks police to give permission for 6 Nov

Unrest after PFI ban

However, sources in the Tamil Nadu government said that at a time when the police department was working round the clock on precautionary measures to maintain law-and-order and prevent any untoward incidents in the state, it was not possible for the government to grant permission for any meeting or procession by any organisation, including the RSS.

This meant that the human chain event to promote communal harmony, which was being organised by the alliance parties of the DMK on the same day as the RSS march, was also denied permission.

After the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided and arrested several leaders of the PFI and the SDPI, several petrol/kerosene bomb attacks and damaging of vehicles were reported in Tamil Nadu, mostly targeting members of the BJP and RSS.

Several parties opposed to RSS march

The RSS decided to take out a route march on 2 October, which also marks Gandhi Jayanti, across 50 locations in the state followed by a public meeting to celebrate the 75th year of Indian Independence, the birth centenary of BR Ambedkar, as well as Vijayadashami. The planned procession would be led by a musical band, and the volunteers would be wearing the RSS uniform, the saffron organisation said.

Several political parties in the state expressed unhappiness when the court earlier granted permission for the RSS rally as they believed that the route march was an attempt to disturb communal harmony in Tamil Nadu. Many of them also objected to it as it was originally scheduled to take place on Gandhi Jayanthi day, which the leaders claimed was an afront to the Father of the Nation.

VCK chief and MP Thol Thirumavalavan had also filed a recall petition against the 22 September order of the high court challenging the jurisdiction of the bench to hear the case. The court reserved its order on Thirumavalavan’s plea on Friday.

Details of the hearing

When the contempt petition filed by the RSS was taken up for hearing, counsels representing the ideological parent body of the BJP, argued that the police was duty-bound to obey court orders and that no one should be allowed to undermine the judiciary.

“The police cannot invent new reasons to reject permission despite a specific court order granting permission,” senior counsel S Prabhakaran said.

G Rajagopal, another lawyer representing the RSS, cited an order of the Supreme Court where it held that law and order cannot be cited as a reason to reject permission and it was the duty of the police to maintain law and order. He also pointed out that permission for the RSS route march was purportedly granted in the neighbouring state of Kerala.

State cites intelligence reports

Representing the police, senior counsel NR Elango stated that a decision was taken to deny permission for the rally in light of the seven intelligence reports received by the state warning of potential law-and-order issues due to the ban imposed on PFI by the Union Home Ministry.

He highlighted the fact that central intelligence agencies themselves had given intelligence inputs to the state.

He also read out a Supreme Court order which said that courts should not interfere in law-and-order issues.

Though the counsels for RSS’ argued that they wanted to take out the route march on 2 October to celebrate Gandhi Jayanthi, senior lawyer Elango rebutted it by pointing out that the petition of the saffron organisation said it wanted to take out the rally on the day to celebrate the 75th year of Indian Independence, the birth centenary of BR Ambedkar, as well as Vijayadashami, and that it did not mention Gandhi Jayanti.

Interestingly, he also reportedly said that people who hail Nathuram Godse, the assassin of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, cannot seek permission to celebrate Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary too.

Towards the end of the arguments, the RSS provided four alternate dates for the route march as sought by the judge.

Justice Ilanthiraiyan directed the police to grant permission for the march on 6 November.