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SC to hear Tamil Nadu govt's plea against Madras HC's order permitting RSS route march

by Trans World Features | @twfindia 01 Mar 2023, 01:18 pm

New Delhi/UNI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that it will hear on March 03 the appeal filed by Tamil Nadu Government against the Madras High Court's order permitting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to take out its route march in the state on rescheduled date, on March 05.

Senior Advocate and former Attorney General (AG) of India, Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for TN government, mentioned before the Supreme Court that this is an important matter and please list this matter for hearing on Friday.

"The march by the political organization (RSS) is on March 5, please consider it," Rohatgi told the Supreme Court.

The state government had denied permission for RSS route marches in six districts affected by PFI and bomb blasts. It told the Apex Court that rallies can be held in stadiums of designated spaces.

"We took a call & said that in 6 districts we can't have. The Single judge of the Madras High Court had accepted but the division bench of it had held that you (TN Govt) grant it wherever they want," Rohatgi told the Supreme Court.

The bench of the Top Court, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dr Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chadrachud, after hearing the mentoning of Rohatgi, said that we will hear this on Friday.

"We will hear it on Friday," the bench said.

Tamil Nadu Government had on February 21, knocked the doors of the Supreme Court against the Madras High Court's order of permitting RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) to conduct a route March. The Tamil Nadu Govt has sought a direction from the Supreme Court for staying the HC's order, advocate for TN State govt, Dr S Joseph Aristotle, said.

"Allowing such a march could cause law & order issues and problems. Action that has been initiated by the State is a reasonable restriction to maintain public order," the Tamil Nadu government's petition filed before the Supreme Court, said.

The two-judge bench of Justice R Mahadevan and Justice Mohammed Shaffiq, of the Madras High Court, had in its order allowed the RSS plea, and permitted it to conduct a route March.

While allowing the RSS to conduct a route march, the HC had noted that the State must uphold the citizens' right to freedom of speech and expression. The court thus directed the RSS to file fresh applications for carrying out the route march on three different dates and directed the Tamil Nadu police to permit the RSS to take out route marches on any of such dates in various districts across the State on public roads.

The Madras HC had permitted RSS members to take out a route march in their uniform led by a musical band throughout Tamil Nadu.