The Karnataka High Court has asked the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to file a fresh application with the Kalaburagi district administration seeking permission for a route march at Chittapur in the district. A bench of the court heard the petition filed by Ashok Patil, an RSS activist, in a special sitting on Sunday.
The petition was filed after the Chittapur tahsildar declined to permit a route march to be organised by the RSS on Sunday. The tahsildar had sought additional details such as the number of participants in the procession, speakers at the event, registration details of the organisation, among others. He also told RSS representatives in a letter on Saturday that action would be taken as per the law on the application once the relevant documents are submitted.
While Patil initially sought directions from the court to allow the route march on Sunday itself, he later filed an application saying that since the permission was denied, the march would be held on November 2.
Justice M G S Kamal, who heard the petition, directed RSS representatives to file a fresh application with the Kalaburagi district administration for the procession. Directing district authorities to consider the application, the court also asked the district administration to submit a report on October 24.
The route march was scheduled at Chittapur, in the constituency represented by Karnataka Information Technology/Biotechnology Minister Priyank Kharge, who had recently sought a ban on RSS activities at government land and properties. On Thursday, the Cabinet decided to issue a government order regulating the use of public spaces and penalising organisations conducting events without permission. The government order was issued on Saturday.
The tahsildar denied permission to the RSS as two Dalit organisations, Bhim Army and Dalit Panthers, had also sought permission for a procession on the same route. If the marches are held on the same route, there is a high possibility of clashes, the tahsildar said while rejecting permission to the three groups.
Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka claimed that the court had allowed the RSS to hold a route march on November 2. “The political drama staged to stop the RSS march stands completely exposed,” he said in a post on X.