Unlawful Assembly By Itself Not An Offence: Madras High Court Quashes Case Against 15 Who Assembled To Celebrate 100 Years Of RSS
The Madras High Court recently quashed criminal cases lodged against 15 members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) who had assembled unlawfully to celebrate the organisation's 100th year ceremony. Justice Nirmal Kumar noted that the parties had only assembled unlawfully to celebrate 100 years of the organisation and no public was affected by the same. The court remarked that...
The Madras High Court recently quashed criminal cases lodged against 15 members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) who had assembled unlawfully to celebrate the organisation's 100th year ceremony.
Justice Nirmal Kumar noted that the parties had only assembled unlawfully to celebrate 100 years of the organisation and no public was affected by the same. The court remarked that the persons involved were following their rights provided by the Constitution and unlawful assembly by itself would not be an offence.
“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 court said.
The case of prosecution was that on October 2, 2025, at about 11:00 a.m., the petitioners gathered together, without any prior permission by the concerned officials, bearing the RSS flag on the occasion of the 100-year ceremony of the organization and for celebrating Vijayadasami. Arguing that the unlawful assembly caused hindrance to the public and transportation, the Village Administrative Officer asked them to disperse and when they failed to do so, a complaint was lodged.
A chargesheet was filed before the trial court for offences under Sections 1989(3), 223, 126(2), and 293 of the BNS. Seeking to quash the same, the accused persons had approached the court.
The petitioner argued that the four witnesses listed by the prosecution were none other than the Village Administrative Officer, two Village Assistants and the investigating officer. It was argued that no independent eye witnesses were examined. It was further submitted that no hindrance was caused as alleged in the FIR and it was only a small gathering of members of the association. The petitioners also argued that the final report was filed within 9 days of lodging complaint, which would show that it was done in a hurried manner without proper investigation.
The petitioner further argued that the celebration could not be seen as an unlawful act and the right to dissent was a hallmark of democracy, and they had only expressed their displeasure which is a fundamental right.
The State, on the other hand, argued that the unlawful assembly had caused hindrance to the public transport and caused disturbed to the public. It was submitted that due to the State's timely intervention, law and order problems were averted.
The court noted that though the occurrence took place in a public area, no public or independent witness was examined by the prosecution, which raised serious doubts about the veracity of the complaint. The court also noted that there was nothing to show the existence of any prohibitory order at the time which was communicated to the public, or any disobedience by the RSS members.
Thus, noting that the continuation of trial would be wholly unsustainable and clear abuse of process of law, the court allowed the plea and quashed the proceedings.
Counsel for Petitioners: D. Vijaya Babu
Counsel for Respondent: M/S. Leonard Arul Joseph Selvam APP
Case Title: V Jayapal and others v. The State and Another
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Mad) 230
Case No: CRL OP No. 10849 of 2026