CHENNAI: The state home department has notified a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for regulating public meetings, rallies, processions and demonstrations in Tamil Nadu, in compliance with directions of the Madras High Court and Supreme Court.
The 56-page comprehensive G.O. on the SOP, dated January 5, applies mainly to large gatherings and prescribes prior permission, advance timelines, venue identification, risk assessment and clear responsibilities for organisers.
One of the key aspects of the SOP is that the state government has decided to give up on the idea of imposing a refundable security deposit to compensate for any damage that may occur during the public meetings.
The security deposit slabs originally proposed were: Rs 1 lakh for gatherings of 5,000-10,000 people, which could go up to Rs 20 lakh for crowds exceeding 50,000. Since the DMK’s allies stoutly opposed this proposal, the government gave up this idea completely.
According to the SOP, organisers are now fully accountable for crowd management, public safety, property damage and law & order issues, while police and district authorities are tasked with regulation, monitoring and enforcement.
SOP aims to fix framework for planning public gatherings
The SOP empowers authorities to impose conditions, take legal action, recover damages and deny future permissions in cases of non-compliance, while safeguarding the right to peaceful assembly. This SOP shall apply to all public meetings, processions, road shows, demonstrations, protests, cultural/religious events and any other form of public gatherings where the anticipated number of participants exceeds 5,000.
However, this SOP shall not apply to religious gatherings organised in places of worship as customary events or where the venue/route is already fixed by established customary precedents. The applicability of this SOP shall be limited during the period of elections when the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is in force. However, the responsibilities of the organiser concerning crowd safety regulations, etc, shall continue to apply otherwise too.
The clauses included in the SOP are aimed at addressing the issues that became points of criticism following the stampede incident at actor and TVK president Vijay’s rally in Karur, which killed 41 people. The SOP aims to establish a structured framework for the planning, regulation and monitoring of public gatherings.
The SOP directed district collectors to notify the list of designated places for public meetings, etc, and this list should be periodically reviewed at least once a year to ensure stability, safety and convenience.
Significantly, keeping in mind the tragedy that unfolded in Karur, the SOP stated that for road shows — defined as events where crowds along roadsides greet a chief guest — the application must clearly state the route, start and end points, venue for public address, VIP arrival and departure times, expected crowd size along each stretch, certified crowd capacity from the public works department (if not a designated venue), and written permission from the road-owning authority concerned . The other key conditions are: Road shows should generally be held within a three-hour duration.
If the actual crowd turnout exceeds the anticipated crowd size mentioned in the application substantially (more than 50%), it will be construed as a serious violation and appropriate action will be taken by police. The audience shall not be made to assemble unnecessarily in advance by more than two hours, and organisers shall ensure that participants are informed of the correct schedule to avoid long waiting periods.
The SOP also said that for major events such as party conferences, where the anticipated crowd size exceeds 50,000, the application may be submitted even 30 days before the proposed date of the event. The SOP said the sub-divisional police officer, while processing the application, shall categorise the event as Low Risk, Moderate Risk or High Risk, considering venue capacity, topography, anticipated crowd, participant profile, nature of gathering, and law & order sensitivity and issue proceedings accordingly.
The SOP also noted the organiser is fully responsible for crowd control, structural safety of all temporary arrangements (with required safety certificates), fire and emergency preparedness and proper vehicle regulation and parking without disrupting traffic, with adequate volunteers deployed.