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The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has moved the Madras high court to permit it to carry out a procession wearing its uniform led by a musical band throughout Tamil Nadu on October 2 and conduct public meetings thereafter.
Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan, before whom the batch of petitions came up for hearing on Monday, directed the state home secretary and the director general of police to file their counter and posted the matter for further hearing on September 22.
According to Sivalingam, president of the Sivakasi unit of the RSS, he had applied for permission to conduct the procession to the local police authority. But, there was no response.
His counsel Rabu Manohar submitted the RSS is not a banned organisation. It is a patriotic, nationalistic and cultural organisation, patronised by the majority people of the nation.
Its processions were being permitted by the respective state governments all over in India including in Jammu and Kashmir.
It is unfortunate that only in Tamil Nadu, the authorities concerned were not giving permission to conduct the procession, which would otherwise be a peaceful one.
When the authorities give permission to carry out processions and hold public meetings to various other political parties and other organisations, it would be ridiculous to deny the same to the RSS.
The act of the police authorities in denying permission is a gross violation of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.
This court had held the police had the power only to control and regulate processions and did not have power to ban the same.
The state owed the duty to regulate such processions and any unreasonable restrictions would grossly violate the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution, petitioner contended.