Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Tuesday while allowing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to hold its Path Sanchalan (foot march) Sharirik Pradarshan event on March 5 in Bhainsa imposed a slew of riders.
A single-judge bench of Justice Bollam Vijaysen Reddy limited the strength for the march to 500 members. It said that persons with criminal antecedents should not take part in the same and that the route should be at least 300 metres away from a mosque located near the bus stand in the town. Also, the outfit was banned from using loudspeakers for the event.
The event is scheduled to be held from 2.30 pm to 7 pm on the eve of the Nagara Sharirikotsavam programme.
After the police had denied permission for the event on February 21, petitioner S. Krishna Rao approached the High Court for relief.
Senior counsel T. Surya Karan Reddy, representing the petitioner, argued that the denial of the permission was arbitrary, as the RSS was a nationalistic ideology-driven outfit and that the march was neither religious nor political.
Reddy informed the court, through press reports filed as material papers in the petition, that a similar event was conducted in Bhainsa in 2018 and that there was no permission sought nor any restriction imposed by the police then.
He pointed out that the state, however, has become reluctant not to allow such marches.
Roopendar, the counsel for the home department, submitted that the route provided by the RSS passed through a masjid and also through sensitive areas. The counsel submitted to the court that the march may be conducted outside the town in the rural area.
He also drew the attention of the court to Section 153 AA of the IPC, which states that arms included lathis, sticks or dandas, and that those carrying such weapons will be treated as people holding arms.
After hearing the arguments, the court imposed the riders, directing officials to take action as per the law if any of the conditions were violated.
