CALCUTTA HC PERMITS RSS TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING ON FEB 16, SETS 2 CONDITIONS

NEW DELHI: The Calcutta high court on Friday allowed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to hold a public meeting in East Burdwan district on February 16 on the condition that the loudspeaker volume was kept to a maximum of 45 decibels and its use was limited to 75 minutes, according to lawyers present at the hearing.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, who is on a 10-day tour of Bengal beginning February 7, is scheduled to address the meeting on February 16 at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) stadium in East Burdwan district’s Talit area.

The district authorities had previously refused permission for the event, saying the 45 loudspeakers to be used at the venue would disturb students appearing for the ongoing class 10 state board examination. The authorities said there were regulations in the state that prohibit use of loudspeakers in open spaces during the exam season.

The RSS, the ideological fount of the Bharatiya Janata Party, moved the high court on Wednesday against the state government’s refusal of permission. It made the Sports Authority of India (SAI), one of the respondents in the case.

The RSS told a bench of justice Amrita Sinha that there were no Class 10 examinations on February, a Sunday.

“We only informed the court during Friday’s hearing that there are no schools in the vicinity of the stadium,” said deputy solicitor general Dhiraj Trivedi, who appeared for SAI.

The Bengal government reasoned that though there was no school near the stadium and no exams are scheduled on the day, the noise levels due to use of 45 loudspeakers would be loud enough to affect people living within a radius of at least a kilometre. This population includes students preparing for their exams,

Justice Sinha directed that the loudspeakers cannot be played above 45 decibels and the public address system has to be used only between 11am and 12.15pm.

RSS leader Jishnu Basu said this was not the first time that the outfit had to move court to hold a public meeting. “In recent years, the state government did not give permission to at least four events citing various reasons. It seems the administration is run by a political party,” he said.

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2025-02-14T13:23:47Z