“Government Is Against Any Procession”: Madras High Court Pulls Up State Over RSS March Refusals

The Madras High Court on Wednesday pressed the Tamil Nadu government to explain why the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is made to seek court intervention every year just to hold a route march, as it took up a plea ahead of the organisation’s founding day celebrations.

Justice V Lakshminarayanan was hearing a petition by RSS member VG Jagadeesan, who wants the police directed to consider his representation and allow marches on October 18, October 25, November 1 or any other suitable date. The petitioner proposes to walk in uniform, led by a musical band, and to follow the march with a public meeting.

The Bench did not hide its unease with the State’s stand. Observing that the RSS had been allowed to march even in a terrorism-affected region like Jammu and Kashmir, the judge asked why Tamil Nadu police refused it year after year.

The Court went further, saying the present government appeared opposed to processions as a category, whether organised by the RSS or the Dravidar Kazhagam. Such blanket refusals, it said, push organisations into avoidable litigation.

“This government is against any procession,” the judge remarked orally, adding that citizens were being treated like enemies when they sought to protest.

He also made it clear that the problem was not limited to one political party. “Whichever government is coming up, they’re rejecting,” the Court observed, suggesting that the reluctance to permit marches cuts across administrations.

Appearing for the petitioner, Senior Advocate NL Rajah told the Court that the organisation was forced to approach the judiciary every single year. He said the RSS only wished to mark its founding day, which falls on Vijayadashami, with a route march. According to him, police kept rejecting the request on the ground that it could lead to law and order problems.

Sr Adv Rajah also raised a wider concern. Well-organised groups like the RSS can afford to approach the Court, he said, but smaller parties without such resources are left with no real remedy when permission is refused.

Defending the State, Advocate General Vijay Narayan said permission was refused because the RSS had sought to hold the march and public meeting at a location that has not been notified for such gatherings. He also pointed to the burden on the police, who are already stretched during the festive season, and said processions could inconvenience people out shopping.

The Court was not persuaded. It noted that the RSS approaches the High Court every year and receives relief every year, and wondered what had changed in 2026 to justify a different approach. When the State referred to earlier criminal cases, the judge asked it to point to actual incidents of violence linked to RSS marches.

In a pointed remark, the judge suggested that if the State was determined to refuse permission for protests, it should simply bring a law banning marches altogether. “Why are you doing this? Unnecessary litigation,” he said, asking whether the government wanted adverse publicity.

The issue is not new. The Court had earlier laid down detailed guidelines for RSS route marches. Even so, permission was denied in 2024, and the organisation had to return to court. While allowing the march then, the Court had said the police were duty-bound to protect both the public and the organisers, and could not cite law and order as a routine excuse. It had also expected the police to follow judicial orders in future without inventing “new and fanciful reasons” for rejection.

For now, the Court has asked counsel for the petitioner to meet State Public Prosecutor John Sathyan and work out a way for the march and meeting to be held peacefully. The State has also been asked to place on record a report on permitting a peaceful procession.

The matter will be heard again on Thursday, October 15.

Case Title: V.G. Jagadeesan v. The State Rep. By, The Chief Secretary and Others

Date of Hearing: October 14, 2026

Bench: Justice V Lakshminarayanan