CHENNAI: The police have been using the guidelines framed by the court to regulate RSS route marches as a scalpel, not for performing the surgery but to kill the patient, remarked the Madras High Court recently while referring to the recurring litigations over granting permission for the outfit’s event marking its foundation day.
“One thing must be said to the credit of the Tamil Nadu police. They have not come up with any novel reasons for rejection. They have been consistently giving the very reasons which this court found as lame,” Justice V Lakshminarayanan said in a recent order passed on a petition filed by V G Jagadeesan, the RSS secretary for northern TN.
Guidelines have been framed as to how the power to grant permission must be finalised. Yet, the very same guidelines are being utilised for the purpose of its rejection, the judge said.
Telling the police not to behave like Procrustes, the judge said, “They should not search the applications for its rejection by placing it on the same bed as they have done all these years. An attempt must be made to process the applications and approve them.” The judge had ordered the police to grant permission for the event on October 25 and November 1 at 128 places.
