Madhya Pradesh High Court Calls Out Five-Decade Ban Error on RSS

The Madhya Pradesh High Court highlighted a nearly five-decade-long error by the Union government in banning government employees from participating in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activities. The court directed the government to publicly acknowledge the lifted ban, ensuring widespread dissemination across departments.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday criticized the Union government for taking nearly five decades to recognize that an internationally renowned organization like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was wrongly listed among banned organizations for government employees.

The court's remark came while a bench of Justices Sushruta Arvind Dharmadhikari and Gajendra Singh disposed of the writ petition of retired Central government employee, Purushottam Gupta.

Gupta had filed a petition challenging the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules and relevant office memorandums that barred government employees from participating in Sangh activities. The court lamented that aspirations of many Central government employees were hampered due to this prolonged ban.

The bench directed the Union government's Department of Personnel and Training and the Ministry of Home Affairs to prominently display the July 9 office memorandum lifting the ban on their official website's homepage within 15 days. Indore-based petitioner Gupta expressed satisfaction with the decision.

(With inputs from agencies.)