CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu police cannot deny permission for RSS route march solely on the ground that churches or mosques are present along the proposed route, said Madras high court on Thursday.“It is a matter of agony that the police are mentioning that the minority communities are having issues if the RSS takes out the route marches,” said Justice V Lakshminarayanan.The judge made the observation on a plea moved by V G Jagadeesan, state secretary of RSS, north Tamil Nadu, seeking direction to the authorities to accord permission for the march on Oct 18, 25, and Nov 1.“As an advocate, I have closely worked with Muslims. How many of them objected to the RSS march? Do not project them in a bad light by giving such reasons,” the judge said.The court then directed the petitioner’s counsel to submit the details of the route, the participants, and others to the police officials. The petitioner shall also give an undertaking that they will scrupulously adhere to the dos and don’ts imposed by the court, the judge said.The court then directed advocate general Vijay Narayan to get instructions from the DGP and adjourned the hearing to Friday.Earlier, the AG submitted that permission could not be given to the dates as sought by the petitioner because of Diwali festivities and the need for providing security to the public in busy areas. Police have to deploy contingents from other districts to give security to the RSS route march in a particular place, he added.
