The Karnataka High Court Friday directed the state to hold a meeting on October 28 with the organisers of the route march that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has proposed to hold in Chittapur, and for which it has filed a revised application. The direction was issued by the single-judge bench of Justice M G S Kamal.
As previously reported by The Indian Express, the high court had previously directed the RSS to file a fresh application for the march with the district administration of Kalaburagi. RSS activist Ashok Patil had moved the high court after the Chittapur tahsildar denied permission for the route march, which was scheduled to take place last Sunday.
The tahsildar’s denial had reportedly come on the grounds of similar applications by the Bhim Army and Dalit Panthers groups for processions along the same route. The tahsildar had rejected all three applications, citing the risk of clashes. Chittapur comes within the constituency of state IT Minister Priyank Kharge, who has been seeking a ban on RSS activities on government sites.
Based on reports from the administration, Advocate General (AG) Shashikiran Shetty, representing the state, submitted before the court, “We have not rejected the (second) application…. There is a tense situation between various organisations. Therefore, we have told that we will consider their application after a few weeks so that they can do their activities….” He then suggested that the matter could be brought up after two weeks before the court to be assessed.
Senior Advocate Aruna Shyam, representing the petitioner, objected to this. He stated, “With a gentleman’s agreement we had agreed for 2nd November… Now they are saying there are other organisations also requesting on the same day. Some of the organisations made statements before the media… They say they are deliberately doing it only to stall the route march.”
He added that now the issue had been escalated, and several organisations could come the next day and state that they want to do a protest at the same time. He added, “Let them give suitable protection, and others can be accommodated on some other date.”
Shyam also raised the issue of the fundamental right to hold such a gathering, while the AG highlighted the concept of reasonable restrictions on speech and assembly, in light of the law and order situation in the area.
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The court ordered after hearing the parties, “In this background, the local authorities have decided to speak to the organisers to have peace committee meetings… The authorities are directed to hold meeting with the organisers on 28th October, who shall also cooperate with respondent authorities taking appropriate decision keeping in mind the situation in Chittapur town and taluk.”
The matter is set to be heard again on October 30 for the outcome of the meeting.