RSS row: Karnataka HC stays government nod mandate for public gatherings

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday stayed a government notification mandating prior permission for holding events at public places in a major breather to the RSS as the Siddaramaiah-led Congress regime's move threatened to disrupt a series of events the Sangh had planned in its centenary year.

Justice M Nagaprasanna stayed the October 18 notification issued by the home department prohibiting assembly of 10 or more people at government-controlled public places without prior permission, while hearing a writ petition from Punaschetana Seva Samsthe.

CM Siddaramaiah said the government would appeal the interim stay. The court observed such an order prima facie infringed on fundamental rights of citizens as Article 19(1)(a)(b) gives freedom of speech and expression as well as rights to congregate, and the notification seeks to take these rights away.


The judge also said that a right conferred on citizens under Chapter III of the Constitution can be taken away only by a law, not by a government order.