On Wednesday (8th January 2025), Justice P. Velmurugan of the Madras High Court came down heavily on the Tamil Nadu police for
denying permission for a rally of the Puthiya Tamilagam (PT) party just a day before the event, despite the application being submitted weeks earlier. In a sharp critique of the Police action, the Madras HC slammed the state Police asking whether the Tamil Nadu police acted as a “government agency or a political agency”?
Notably, the judge was hearing a writ petition filed by PT founder-president K. Krishnasamy, who accused the Chennai Police Commissioner of issuing a last-minute rejection order on November 6, 2024, for a rally planned on November 7, 2024.
Justice Velmurugan criticized the delay, noting that even if the rejection was justified, it should have been issued earlier to avoid inconvenience and allow the organisers to challenge the order legally. The police were ordered to explain the delay and file a response by January 22, 2025.
Dr Krishnasamy, arguing his case, said the rally was planned to highlight various demands, including the revocation of 3% internal reservation for Arunthathiyars within the Scheduled Castes. PT initially applied for permission on October 18, 2024, and, after discussions with the police, agreed to change the starting point of the rally. A revised application was submitted on October 26, and permission was also sought to submit a memorandum to the Governor after the rally.
However, the police turned down this request on 6 November by citing the threat of a major crowd that might cause traffic snarls and law-and-order problems. The rejection order was only discovered pasted on the party office wall on November 7, after hundreds of participants had already travelled to Chennai at significant personal expense.
Dr Krishnasamy also alleged that on the day of the rally, participants, including himself, were detained in a poorly ventilated hall for six hours. Consequently, the petition sought ₹1 crore in compensation for the hardship caused to the participants.
This is the second time the Madras High Court has slammed the police within a week.
In a sexual assault case from Anna University’s campus, the Kotturpuram police were accused of mishandling the complaint and leaking the FIR. The police also violated Supreme Court guidelines by revealing the victim’s identity. The Madras High Court formed an all-women SIT to investigate. Justices Subramaniam and Lakshminarayan criticized the police for victim shaming, stressing the need to stop blaming women for crimes against them.
The opposition parties including the BJP, AIADMK have been putting the arbitrary behaviour of police in Tamilnadu under the leadership of CM MK Stalin of DMK in the dock noting that it is creating law and order problems for common people. The judiciary of the state has been forced to come to rescue the victims.
