CHENNAI: The Madras High Court questioned the grounds for cancelling the permission granted to the Puthiya Tamilagam party to hold a rally demanding the state government to scrap 3 per cent internal reservation for Arunthathiyars within scheduled castes at the eleventh hour.
Justice P Velmurugan heard the petition moved by Puthiya Tamilagam Party founder K Krishnasamy seeking to quash the order denying permission to hold the rally and direct the State to provide Rs 1 crore as compensation for the loss incurred to the party.
Krishnasamy appeared as a party in person before the court. He submitted that the city police officials allowed his party to hold the rally and had also suggested that the rally start at Rajarathinam Stadium. Accepting the suggestion, his party obtained an appointment to meet Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi, as a part of the rally to submit a memorandum of demands.
The party had organised the rally from Rajarathinam Stadium to Raj Bhavan and obtained consent from the city police. The rally was scheduled on November 7, 2024 and saw thousands of supporters gathering from various districts, including Thoothukudi, Kanniyakumari and Cuddalore. However, at midnight on November 6, the permission was cancelled by the police, citing issues with the public order and traffic congestion as they expected huge numbers of party members would gather at the rally, he added.
Krishnasamy submitted that as numerous party members had already gathered at the spot, they proceeded with the rally despite rain lashing the city. Police stopped the rally and detained all the members, including him, at a hall till the evening, he said.
He also alleged the police discriminate against parties other than the ruling DMK and its allies in granting permission for protests
After the submission, the judge directed the city police to file an affidavit stating the grounds for denying permission without granting time, which was also in the middle of the night. The matter was posted to January 24 for further submission.