Karnataka High Court | Photo credit:
Orally stating that the issue of granting permission to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to hold a patha sanchalana (route of march) in Chittapur “should not be prolonged and an early resolution of the issue is better for the society,” the Karnataka High Court on Friday ordered the Kalaburagi district administration and other proposed meetings on October 2 with the RSS, with RSS8. report to court.
Justice MGS Kamal issued the direction after the district administration, acting on a court order dated October 19, submitted a report that it had reserved its decision on the RSS’ request to hold the march on November 2, in view of the tense situation in Chittapur city and the taluk since October 19, the day the RSS had originally planned to hold the march in the city.
The court issued the order while hearing a petition filed by Ashok Patil, convenor of the RSS route march, Chittapur, challenging the Chittapur tahsildar’s decision to deny permission for the October 19 route march citing that two other organizations had also sought permission to hold a rally on the same date, time and area.
The court directed the petitioner to also cooperate with the authorities in taking an appropriate decision in the matter, keeping in view the situation in Chittapur city and the taluk area, adjourned the further hearing to 30 October pending the report of the hearing to be held on 28 October.
What message did she say
The court noted from the report that “in Chittapur city and across the taluk, there is some sort of tension between various organizations regarding the granting of permission to conduct pathasanchalana/ assemblies.
“As various organizations have issued statements in favor of and against such pathasanchalana/gathering in print, electronic and social media, a tumultuous atmosphere has been created and the local environment has been disturbed by social media posts and if permission is granted for such pathasanchalana/process/past march/gathering, there is a possibility that a large number of people may assemble on the basis of reasonable public order and assemble, which will lead to disturbance of public order. material…,” the court noted from the report.
The court also noted that the report highlighted that “in order to maintain public law and order and public tranquility, the district administration thought it fit to consider the RSS’s plea at a future date when the ground situation is normalized and the environment is more conducive after speaking to all the organizers and holding peace committee meetings with the citizens within a few weeks”.
What did the AG say
Earlier, appearing for the district administration, Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty said that the objection of RSS has not been rejected or dismissed and it is still being considered in the light of reports received from the local authorities with respect to law and order and the matter will be resolved after the meetings.
However, Senior Advocate Aruna Shyam M., who appeared as counsel for the petitioner through video conferencing, insisted that the authorities should ensure that the petitioner and his organization conduct their route march and side events on November 2 and not delay beyond the said date as they had changed the date of the march in response to the court’s earlier motion.
Published – 24 Oct 2025 20:50 IST
