TVK rally in Karur. | Photo credit: File photo
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) as well as the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) on Thursday proposed several changes in the draft Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) formulated by the state government for public meetings, processions, roadshows, demonstrations, protests, cultural/religious events and other public gatherings of more than 5,000 people.
Senior counsel Vijay Narayan representing AIADMK, appearing before a first bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan, pointed out the draft SOP states that it will not apply to religious gatherings held at places of worship as customary events or where the place/route has already been fixed by established customary precedents.
As loss of life due to stampedes has been reported in the past not only in the state but also across the country during religious events, the senior counsel suggested that the government should either extend the current draft SOP to religious gatherings also held at places of worship or customary places/roads or come up with a separate SOP for these events.
Regarding the proposal, he said organizers of public assemblies and protests should always be able to choose either a designated venue or an alternative venue of their choice, and should not be forced to hold events only at designated venues simply because they can accommodate the crowd expected to attend those events.
He insisted on waiving the condition of obtaining permission from the National Roads Authority of India and the State Highways Authority, saying it would be sufficient if the organizers informed these authorities about the conduct of the events and obtained permission only from the police department. He said the police must take a call to grant/deny permission within three days of applications.
The AIADMK further said that the deadline for submission of applications must be extended from 15 to 21 days before the proposed event so that organizers can make arrangements in advance. When the Chief Justice wanted to know why such a deadline was prescribed, Additional Solicitor General J. Ravindran said it was to prevent the parties from blocking the designated seats months in advance and to prevent others from availing them.
On his part, senior counsel PV Balasubramaniam, representing TVK, said that the list of all designated sites must be published on the state government’s website and that both seating and standing capacity at each site must be assessed and notified. Entries must not be rejected just because the expected crowd was greater than the capacity of the venue and instead the number of participants could be reduced, he added.
Adopting the draft SOP prepared by the government was too complicated to get lost in it, the senate chairman said, it could have been formulated much more simply. He asked Mr Narayan, Mr Balasubramaniam and advocate AP Suryaprakasam, representing the Desiya Makkal Sakthi Katchi, to submit their submissions in writing and decided to continue the hearing on Friday.
Published – 27 Nov 2025 20:34 IST
