The Supreme Court on Friday scheduled a hearing on the Tamil Nadu government’s plea challenging the Madras High Court’s order permitting the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) to conduct flag marches in the state. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta will hear the case on November 6.
The Tamil Nadu government has approached the Supreme Court, challenging the October 18 order by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court that granted the RSS permission to hold flag marches in the state. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate on record Sabarish Subramanian represented the Tamil Nadu government.
The petition argues that the order was issued without considering the history of violent incidents associated with such marches, their purposes, and the prevailing intelligence reports concerning potential law and order disruptions. It also claims that the order was issued in ignorance of other religious gatherings during the ongoing Navratri festival and Thevar Jayanti across Tamil Nadu.
The petition contends that the respondents represent an organization called the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), which is neither a citizen of India nor a Body Corporate, and therefore, does not possess the Fundamental Right protected by Article-19 of the Indian Constitution, which is exclusively available to Indian citizens.
The petition further states that the respondents sought permission to conduct Flag Marches and processions on October 22, 2023, and October 29, 2023, without valid reasons. It claims that the proposed route maps for these marches pass through narrow roads and areas where places of worship of Minority Communities are located.
While police authorities were collecting necessary information to evaluate the requests for permissions, the respondents filed numerous Writ Petitions before the Madurai Bench of the High Court of Madras, seeking the disposal of the said requests.
During the pendency of the litigation, the police authorities, taking into account intelligence inputs, law and order conditions, and personnel availability, denied permission for the marches. This decision was influenced by the history of such marches across India, particularly in West Bengal, where they led to communal clashes, according to the petition.
Despite the petition becoming redundant and the respondents lacking the standing to file a Writ Petition, the Madurai Bench of the High Court transformed the litigation into an appeal against the administrative decision, overturning the rejection orders of the petitioners, the petition further argues.