Unlawful assembly alone not offence, says Madras High Court

CHENNAI: Holding that unlawful assembly by itself would not amount to the commission of an offence, the Madras High Court quashed proceedings against 15 RSS functionaries, and observed that they had assembled only to celebrate the organisation's 100th year and Vijayadasami.

Justice M Nirmal Kumar observed that the petitioners had assembled unlawfully to only celebrate the organisation's 100th year and that no member of the public was affected by it. They were exercising the rights guaranteed under the Constitution, he said.

"A mere reading of the allegations in the final report shows that the allegations are general in nature and no specific allegations have been made against the petitioners to attract the said provisions. Unlawful assembly itself would not amount to the commission of an offence," the court said.

V Jayapal, A Amulraj, and 13 others from Tirupattur filed the plea to quash the criminal proceedings against them. According to the prosecution, they had assembled carrying RSS flags on October 2, 2025, without prior permission. The village administrative officer alleged that the gathering obstructed the public and traffic, and lodged a complaint after they refused to disperse. Subsequently, a chargesheet was filed under relevant provisions of the BNS.

The petitioners contended that the gathering was small, caused no obstruction as alleged, and argued that the final report was filed within nine days of the complaint, indicating a hurried investigation.

When the State argued that the unlawful assembly had caused hindrance to public transport and disturbance to the public, the court noted that gathering together was their fundamental right, and that there was no complaint from anyone affected by the unlawful assembly.

Accordingly, the court allowed the petitions and quashed the proceedings pending before the Additional District Munsif-cum-Judicial Magistrate, Ambur, Tirupattur, against the petitioners.