Chennai, Oct 14:
The Madras High Court on Wednesday questioned the police for denying permission for RSS rallies, asking why such events, allowed in Jammu and Kashmir facing terrorist threats, but not in Tamil Nadu, described as a peaceful state.
Justice V. Lakshminarayanan raised the questions while hearing a petition filed by RSS State Secretary Jagadeesan seeking a directive to the police to grant permission to hold rallies across Tamil Nadu on October 18 or 25, or November 1.
In his petition, Jagadeesan said an application had been submitted to the Director-General of Police seeking permission for the rallies. As no response was received, he approached the High Court seeking directions to the police to give nod for the events.
Senior counsel N.L. Raja, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the High Court had directed the authorities to grant permission for RSS rallies every year, and that the Supreme Court had upheld the order. Despite this, permission continued to be denied, he contended.
Appearing for the police, Advocate General Vijay Narayan submitted that applications had to be filed at least 21 days in advance, whereas the request in the present case was submitted only on October 3. He also argued that the proposed routes fell within areas where permission could not be granted and that allowing rallies during the festival season could inconvenience the public.
The judge questioned why permission was being denied despite the earlier court directions. He observed that RSS rallies faced restrictions irrespective of which party was in power. However, under the present TVK government, permission was reportedly being denied to the Dravidar Kazhagam, the DMK, the AIADMK and the RSS, he noted.
Referring to Jammu and Kashmir, the judge asked why RSS rallies could be permitted in a region facing terrorist threats while similar permission was denied in Tamil Nadu. He also observed that denying permission could result in the government giving the organisation unnecessary publicity.
The judge directed the petitioner and his counsel to hold discussions with Government Chief Criminal Advocate R.John Sathyan on the matter and adjourned the case to Thursday for further hearing.