Madras High Court Quashes Criminal Case Against RSS Members Booked For 100th Year Vijayadasami Celebration Without Permission
|The Court found no prohibitory order, no unlawful assembly, no independent witness & no public harm resulting from the gathering; termed the charge sheet filed within nine days a hurried investigation.
The Madras High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) who were booked for gathering without prior permission at Ambur, Tirupattur District, on October 02, 2025, to celebrate Vijayadasami and the 100th year anniversary of the organisation.
The petitioners were facing trial before the Judicial Magistrate, Ambur, for offences under Sections 189(3), 223, 126(2) and 293 BNS. The matter came to light from a complaint lodged by the Village Administrative Officer alleging that the petitioners had caused hindrance to public transport and refused to disperse when asked.
Justice M. Nirmal Kumar observed, “…it is admitted fact that the petitioners gathered together which is their fundamental right. In this case, no public lodged a complaint and no public got affected, due to the unlawful assembly by the petitioners. Hence, this Court finds that the petitioners have unlawfully assembled together only to celebrate Vijayadasami festival and 100th year anniversary of their association formation”.
Advocate D. Vijaya Babu appeared for the petitioners and M/S. Leonard Arul Joseph Selvam, Additional PP appeared for the respondents.
For the facts, when the petitioners gathered bearing the RSS flag at Ambur, Tirupattur District, without prior permission from concerned officials, they were alleged to have caused hindrance to public movement and transportation.
When the Village Administrative Officer directed them to disperse and they failed to do so, a complaint was lodged against the petitioners, culminating in a charge sheet filed before the Trial Court with four witnesses, the Village Administrative Officer, two Village Assistants and the Investigating Officer.
The Court quashed the proceedings on three grounds. First, no independent public witness was examined despite the occurrence taking place in a public place, the only witnesses cited were the Village Administrative Officer, two Village Assistants and the Investigating Officer.
Second, there was no material on record showing any promulgation of prohibitory orders communicated to the public, nor any disobedience thereof by the petitioners. Third, the prosecution failed to show that any trouble actually resulted from the assembly.
The Court noted that the charge sheet was filed within nine days of the complaint, indicating a hurried investigation, and that no member of the public had either lodged a complaint or claimed to have been affected. Relying on its earlier judgment in Jeevanandham and others v. State Rep. by Inspector of Police and another (2018) 2 LW Crl. 606, the Court held that continuation of the trial would constitute a clear abuse of the process of law.
“It is seen that the petitioners had followed the rights provided by the Constitution of India and held the protest under the guise of Constitution. A mere reading of the allegations in the final report, the allegations are general in nature and no specific allegations are made against the petitioners to attract the said provisions. Unlawful assembly itself would not amount to commission of offense”, the Bench further observed.
Cause Title: V. Jayapal & Ors. v. The State Rep by the Inpsector of Police & Anr. CRL OP No. 10849 of 2026
Appearances:
Petitioners: D. Vijaya Babu, Advocate.
Respondents: M/S. Leonard Arul Joseph Selvam, Additional PP.