Supreme Court Will Hear Tamil Nadu Government's Petition Against RSS Route March

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was granted permission by the Madras High Court to hold a route march across the state on March 5. The Tamil Nadu government appealed that decision, and the Supreme Court will hear it on March 3. Senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi raised the issue on behalf of the state's DMK government, and Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud consented to list the state's appeal for this Friday.

In its petition to the top court, the state government argued that, in light of intelligence reports, allowing such a march could result in a law-and-order problem as well as other issues. It did this through its standing counsel Joseph Aristotle. It further stated that the state's decision to forbid the march was under the constitutional provision of Article 19(2) that allows for reasonable restrictions on basic rights in order to preserve public order.

Meanwhile, in light of the Popular Front of India's (PFI) impending ban in September 2022, the state administration highlighted reports regarding concerns for a disturbance of the public peace. On February 10, the Madras High Court ruled that the RSS could conduct its route march in Tamil Nadu on the new dates it had set and stated that demonstrations are necessary for a strong democracy.