No rally carrying national flag should be prohibited on Independence Day, orders Madras High Court

Madras High Court allows patriotic rallies with national flag on Independence Day, rejecting police denial of permission.

The Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the Tamil Nadu Director-General of Police/Head of Police Force (DGP/HoPF) not to prohibit any rally to be taken out either by foot, cycles, motorcycles or cars carrying the national flag on Independence Day, provided that the flag gets carried with due respect and dignity.

Justice G. Jayachandran ordered that any individual or group would be entitled to take out a rally carrying the tricolour, to exhibit their patriotic fervour and to recall the sacrifice made by the freedom fighters, after due intimation to the jurisdictional police and without causing any disturbance to free flow of road traffic.

“The participants and organisers shall maintain order and shall not do any act which will demean the national flag or the nation... The State police shall not prevent them from proceeding as a rally... It is made clear that this permission is for carrying the national flag alone in the procession/rally on August 15, 2024,” the judge ordered.

The orders were passed on two writ petitions filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office-bearers against the rejection of permission by the Coimbatore city Police as well as the Chengalpattu district police for motorcycle rallies, in which the national flag was to be carried by pillion-riders without mounting it on the vehicles.

The judge wrote: “Tiruppur Kumaran (‘Kodi Kaatha’ Kumaran) lost his life for carrying the flag of the nation about 96 years ago. This happened during the British period. Unfortunately, after 77 years of Independence, when the petitioners sought permission to take out a rally carrying the national flag, it is denied by the police.”

A Deputy Commissioner of Police in Coimbatore had cited lack of clarity on the route of the rally and the ongoing road maintenance as reasons for denying permission. “On seeing the reasons, this court was shocked. A question was posed as to whether we are still under British Raj,” the judge said.

In response, Additional Advocate-General J. Ravindran brought it to the notice of the court that the Flag Code of India, 2002, states that the national flag should not be flown on any vehicle except that of high dignitaries such as the President, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister, and the Governors.