NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) flag march in Tamil Nadu leaving a choice to the state to decide whether it should allow either on November 19 or November 26 subject to the route of the rally.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datt while hearing the state’s plea against the Madras High Court’s orders granting permission to the RSS flag marches in various locations in the state, said the organisers of the march can submit their proposed route by November 9 and state has to notify the route by November 15.
Counsel for the right-wing organisation said they would undertake to cooperate with the State authorities on the fixing of a date and the route for the march. “We just want to hold the march,” said Senior Adv Madhavi Divan, represented the respondent. On the other hand, appearing for the state, senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Mukul Rohatgi and Tamil Nadu Additional Advocate General Amit Anand Tiwari, submitted that the government is concerned about the law and order issue, citing the possible trigger to violence and communal clashes due to the march.
An earlier proposed route of the march was passing through Jama Masjids and mosques, they argued. Adv Rohatgi said the organisers wanted to hold three marches in every district. He prayed that the court may tell the organisers to hold one rally in one district while handing over the proposed route seeking the choice to the state to select the route.
The court said the rally had already given an assurance to maintain peace and cooperate with the authorities. Last week, calling the state government incapable, the Madras High Court had summoned the home secretary, DGP, and other officials to appear before it in a contempt case filed by RSS for disobeying the court’s order and denying the organization permission to hold route marches across the state.
Tamil Nadu has been arguing that allowing flag marches of the right-wing organisation could cause a law and order issue. It also stated that the action initiated by the state is a reasonable restriction for maintaining public order in the state.