Madras High Court flags concerns over TVK rallies, urges uniform rules

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 19 (ANI): The Madras High Court has issued a strong warning to Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), led by actor-turned-politician Vijay, over alleged damage to public property during recent political rallies and asked the Tamil Nadu government to establish uniform, legally sound rules for holding large public meetings.

During a hearing on TVK’s petition challenging what it describes as “tough and unfufillable” conditions imposed by police when granting permission for public meetings, Justice N. Sathish Kumar, on Thursday, observed that some of the restrictions placed on TVK’s rallies may be discriminatory and placed an undue burden.

The photos submitted to the Court reportedly show damage to public property during a TVK rally in Tiruchi. The Court asked whether compensation for that damage had been collected.

The judge also stated that leaders must take responsibility for crowd control and public safety. Specifically, TVK’s Vijay was told he should take steps to ensure that gatherings are peaceful and shouldn’t ask (or force) certain categories of people, like pregnant women or differently-abled persons, not to attend unless their safety can be reasonably ensured.

The State government has been asked to come up with uniform guidelines for granting permissions for political rallies and public meetings. These rules should apply equally to all parties.

Alongside, the Court suggested that before such events, parties may need to deposit a security amount. This deposit could be used to compensate for property damage in case any such loss occurs. The Court has scheduled a further hearing on this matter for September 24, 2025, by which date the government must present proposals or draft guidelines.

TVK has claimed that the conditions imposed by the police are not being applied to other political parties, arguing that it is being treated unfairly. They maintain that their requests for rallies are often met with restrictions that are hard to comply with.

On the other hand, the government maintains that conditions are imposed in the interest of law and order. Photos of disruption and property damage were submitted in Court in support of imposing tighter regulations. (ANI)

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