Tamil Nadu: Guidelines for public meetings of political parties
Tamil Nadu: The government issued an order on Tuesday, setting guidelines for the safe conduct of public meetings and road rallies by political parties.
In this regard, the Madras High Court had previously ordered that the guidelines be issued by January 5th.
The Tamil Nadu government issued this order on Tuesday after a petition was filed with the Chief Justice’s office on Wednesday, seeking contempt of court action against the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, and Director General of Police for failing to comply. The details are as follows:
Permission must be applied for at least 10 days prior to the meeting. For public meetings with more than 50,000 people, permission must be applied for 30 days prior. Permission must be granted or denied within 15 days. The reasons for denial must be provided in writing.
Meetings should be held at a specific time: Meetings must be held and completed at a specific time, as per the police department’s legal plan. Road shows should be completed within three hours. Rallies should be held on only one side of the road, with the other side open to traffic.
Meetings should not begin before two hours. Meeting times should be clearly communicated. Pregnant women, senior citizens, children, and the disabled should not be kept waiting for extended periods.
If the crowd exceeds 50% of the permitted number, it will be considered a serious violation. The police department may take necessary action.
The organizers are responsible for the security, management, and organization of the attendees. Parties should appoint one assistant for every 100 people at public meetings and one assistant for every 50 people at road rallies.
Surveillance Team: The District Magistrate should establish security surveillance teams at the district and block levels. One guard should be deployed for every 200 people at low-risk gatherings, one guard for every 100 people at medium-risk gatherings, and one guard for every 50 people at high-risk gatherings.
Receiving, approving, and rejecting applications for political public meetings should be done online.
The Director General of Police should take immediate action to implement these guidelines. It has been stated that the District Magistrate and Police Commissioner should consult with the concerned authorities and decide where public meetings will be held.
On September 27, 41 people died in a stampede during the road rally of Tevag leader Vijay in Karur. Following this, Tevag, AIADMK, and National People’s Power Party filed a public interest petition in the Madras High Court seeking guidelines for public meetings by political party leaders. Following the High Court’s order, these guidelines were formulated after hearing the views of political parties.
