The Madras High Court on Wednesday asked the Tamil Nadu police why the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was denied permission to hold its annual route march in the state, irrespective of the party in power.
“What is your fear? Every year they (RSS) are coming (for permission) amd the Court is granting. Has there been any violence so far in their march?” the high court asked. “State is looking at citizens as enemies, what to do? Justice Lakshminarayanan remarked, adding that successive governments had rejected such requests. The court was hearing a petition filed by RSS North Tamil Nadu secretary VG Jagadeesan, challenging police orders denying permission for marches scheduled across the state. The judge questioned the need for repeated litigation over permissions for processions and suggested that the state should enact legislation if it intended to prohibit them altogether. He also submitted that procedural guidelines governing processions did not constitute inflexible statutory requirements and that the police should seek clarifications from organisers instead of rejecting applications outright. Rajah objected to police orders referring to mosques along the proposed routes, arguing that such reasoning undermined Tamil Nadu’s communal harmony.
What is so exceptional in 2026? Senior advocate NL Rajah, appearing for the petitioner, argued that the RSS had conducted annual marches since its inception in 1925.
Narayan said the marches would also require substantial police deployment at a time when the authorities had other responsibilities. “Pass a legislation saying no person will be entitled to take a procession or a march if the State is insistent on denying permission,” the high court said.
