Madras High Court Orders Political Parties & Other Organisations To Remove Permanent Flagpoles Erected At Public Places

Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan of the Madurai bench directed the concerned parties to remove all permanent flagpoles within 12 weeks, failing which the authorities concerned shall take appropriate action after issuing notice to the parties. The court added that the authorities could, in such a case, recover the cost of removal from the concerned parties.

The court passed the orders on a plea filed by Kathiravan challenging an order of the Assistant Divisional Engineer rejecting his request to erect a flag pole of the AIADMK party in Palanganatham, Madurai city.

While dismissing the application, the court remarked that there was no law that permitted issuing licenses to install permanent flagpoles in public places. The court added that the police and the revenue authorities did not have jurisdiction to issue a No-Objection certificate allowing the erection of flag poles in public places. The judge also remarked that these flagpoles often caused inconvenience to the commuters and also affected traffic in some cases

The court, at the same time, clarified that there was no restriction on installing flag poles in private patta land by parties during political campaigns, dharnas, public meetings, etc. However, the court added that such installations should also be subject to rules and must be removed after the meeting. The court added that after removing the flag poles, care should also be taken by the organizers to clean the area and return the place to its original condition. The court also directed the State to formulate rules for installing flagpoles on private land.

Counsel for the Petitioner: Mr.P.Balamurugan, Mr.A.Ramkumar

Counsel for the Respondents: Mr.R.Baskaran Additional Advocate General Assisted by Mr.S.Shanmugavel Mr.Hasan Mohammed Jinnah State Public Prosecutor Assisted by Mr.R.M.Anbunithi Additional Public Prosecutor Mrs.S.Devasena Standing Counsel Mr.D.Gandhi Raj Special Government Pleader Additional Government Pleader

Case Title: R Kathiravan v The Divisional Engineer and Others

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Mad) 26

Case No: WP (MD) 29035 of 2024