41. - Power to regulate assemblies, meetings and processions in public places, etc.
(1)The Commissioner or, subject to his orders, any Police Officer above the rank of head constable, may, from time to time, as occasion may require direct the conduct of all assemblies, meetings and processions in public places ; prescribe the routes by which and the times at which such processions may pass ; keep order in public places and prevent obstructions on the occasion of such assemblies, meetings and processions, and in the neighbourhood of places of worship during the time of public worship and in any case when public placesmay be thronged or liable to be obstructed ; and may licence and regulate or prohibit the use of music or of sound amplifiers in any area.(2)Subject to the provisions of sub-sections (3) and (4), the Commissioner may, by order in writing, prohibit any assembly, meeting or procession if he considers such prohibition to be necessary for the preservation of the public peace or public safety :Provided that no order under this sub-section shall, without the sanction of the State Government, remain in force for more than fifteen days from the date on which such order takes effect.(3)(a)When the order referred to in sub-section (2) is in force, any person who intends to convene or collect any assembly or meeting in any public place or to direct or promote any procession, shall make an application to the Commissioner for permission. The application shall be in such form and contain such particulars as may be specified by the Commissioner in this behalf and shall be made not less than five days prior to the date, on which the assembly or meeting is to be convened or collected or the procession is to be formed :Provided that the Commissioner may, for reasons to be recorded in writing receive such application within five days prior to the date aforesaid.(b)On receipt of the application under clause (a), the Commissioner may, by order in writing served in the manner specified in sub-section (7), grant permission to convene or collect the assembly or meeting or to direct or promote the procession subject to such conditions as he may specify or refuse to grant such permission.(4)Except in cases where immediate action is necessary for the preservation of the public peace or public safety no order refusing to grant permission shall be passed under clause (b) of sub-section (3) without giving the person concerned an opportunity of appearing before the Commissioner either in person or by pleader and showing cause against the order refusing to grant permission and the Commissioner shall record in writing the reasons for such order.(5)The Commissioner may, by order in writing, depute one or more Police officers or other persons, to be present in any such assembly, meeting or procession, for the purpose of causing a report to be taken of the proceedings.(6)Any person who-(a)opposes or fails to obey any order under sub-section (1), or.(b)contravenes the conditions of any licence under sub-section (1), or(c)when the order referred to in sub-section (2) is in force, convenes or collects any assembly or meeting or directs or promotes any procession-(i)without the permission of the Commissioner under clause (b) of sub-section (3), or(ii)in contravention of any of the conditions subject to which the permission was granted under that clause, shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding one hundred rupees.(7)The order referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (3) shall be served-(a)by giving or tendering the order to the person concerned; or(b)if such person is not found, by leaving such order at his last known place of abode or business or by giving or tendering the same to some adult member or servant of his family; or(c)if such person does not reside in the city of Madras and his address elsewhere is known to the Commissioner, by sending the same to him by post registered; or(d)if none of the means aforesaid be available, by affixing the same in some conspicuous part of the place of abode or business of such person.(8)Nothing in this section shall apply to any assembly or meeting of a purely religious character held in a recognized place of worship, any assembly or meeting gathered together purely for the purpose of taking part in sports, any procession on the occasion of any wedding, funeral or similar domestic occurrence, or of any religious ceremony, or to any public meeting held under any statutory or other express legal authority, or to public meetings convened by the sheriff, or to any public meetings or class of public meetings exempted for that purpose by the State Government by general or special order.(9)For the purposes of this section-(a)the words "assembly", "meeting" and "procession" include any assembly, meeting or procession which is open to the public or to any class or portion of the public;(b)a place in which an assembly or meeting is held may be a public place notwithstanding that it is held in a private place and notwithstanding that admission thereto may have been restricted by ticket or otherwise."
