The Madras High Court has granted permission to a group of petitioners, who are members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at local and state levels, to conduct "route marches" in 35 locations across Tamil Nadu on October 22 and 29 this year.

Justice G Jayachandran issued a collective ruling on a series of petitions and instructed the police to approve the requested permissions for these marches a minimum of three to five days prior to the planned march dates.

Despite the State police's objections, the Court dismissed them and authorized the police to impose "reasonable restrictions" to ensure the maintenance of law and order during these route marches.

The petitioners were represented by Senior Counsel G Karthikeyan and advocate Rabu Manohar.

A similar issue had arisen in October of the previous year when the RSS had requested permission from the Tamil Nadu government to conduct marches and public meetings at various locations across the state in commemoration of Gandhi Jayanti and the 75th anniversary of India's independence. The state government however, had declined permission, citing intelligence reports that indicated potential law and order issues. In response, the RSS had taken the matter to the Madras High Court.

On November 4 of that year, a single judge had granted the RSS permission to carry out the march, but with specific conditions, such as conducting the march indoors or in enclosed spaces.

Subsequently, on February 10, a division bench of the High Court removed these restrictions and underscored the significance of protests in a robust democracy. The division bench had further instructed the RSS to communicate with the police and provide three new dates on which they intended to organize the route march.

The Tamil Nadu government had contested this decision in the Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court also upheld the order that granted permission to the RSS for its route march. As a result, in April 2022, route marches were carried out by the RSS at 45 locations across the state.