Director-General of Police (DGP) Shankar Jiwal on Monday informed the Madras High Court of having issued guidelines to be followed while taking out funeral processions.
Chief Justice Sanjay V. Gangapurwala and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy were apprised of the guidelines framed on March 20 and circulated to all Commissioners and Superintendents of Police. The judges recorded the guidelines and closed a suo motu public interest litigation petition taken up in 2023 on the basis of a letter written to the High Court by A. Anbu Selvan on September 4, 2022, complaining about a motorcyclist having lost his life after skidding due to garlands thrown on the road.
After extracting the DGP’s circular memorandum, the Bench wrote: “We hope and trust that the aforesaid instructions issued by the Director-General of Police, Tamil Nadu, shall be adhered to in its letter and spirit. The writ petition is disposed of accordingly. There shall be no order as to costs.”
In the circular to his subordinates, the DGP stated that “this is a very sensitive issue involving the traditions and emotions of the people, and at the same time, the life and safety of the public. The unit officers should take suitable preventive steps and sensitise the sub-divisional officers and station house officers.”
Listing the guidelines, Mr. Jiwal said it should be made mandatory for family members of the deceased to give prior intimation to the local police personnel regarding the tentative time of the funeral procession and the route it would take so that necessary arrangements could be made to regulate vehicular traffic.
The local police, in turn, would liaise with the panchayat/municipality/corporation to clear the garlands and other materials that may end up being littered on the roads. The guidelines also stated that no banners, hoardings, among other things would be permitted during funeral processions without approval from the competent authorities.
“The organisers should be advised not to carry a large number of garlands/wreaths during the procession and not throw them on roads or vehicles. If any garland/wreath is left on the roads, the police should liaise with the local bodies to remove them immediately,” the circular read.
It further stated that the police should advise the organisers to avoid taking out funeral processions on highways, arterial, and main roads and not to disturb traffic flow. “Strict legal action should be taken if there are any violations endangering the life and safety of the public,” Mr. Jiwal said.
The DPG added that the guidelines he had framed were only illustrative and not exhaustive, and the unit officers (Commissioners and Superintendents of Police) should take all necessary precautionary measures to ensure the safety of the public and maintain law and order during such processions.
