Chennai, Feb 26 The Madras High Court on Thursday questioned why the state government could not consider online applications for permission to hold political processions and rallies.
The bench, comprising Chief Justice M M Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan, was hearing a case filed by TVK seeking to quash government guidelines regulating political processions and rallies. The court directed the state government to file a counter-affidavit within three weeks.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam joint general secretary C T R Nirmal Kumar had challenged the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) formulated by the state government following the Karur stampede, which claimed 41 lives, at a meeting addressed by actor-politician Vijay on September 27, 2025.
During the hearing, the chief justice asked what was objectionable about the guidelines, which were formulated based on a High Court order after the tragic incident in Karur.
The bench also observed that giving priority to parties with a long history of contesting elections and winning MPs and MLAs was not inappropriate.
