Ban lifted on govt employees joining RSS: Took Centre five decades to realise mistake, says MP HC

Indore: The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday said it took the Union government nearly five decades to realise that an "internationally renowned" organisation like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was wrongly placed in the list of organisations banned for government employees.

The HC'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 in the High Court on September 19 last year challenging the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules as well as the office memorandums of the Centre that were preventing the participation of government employees in the activities of the Sangh.

"The court laments the fact that it took almost five decades for the Central government to realise its mistake; to acknowledge that an internationally renowned organisation like RSS was wrongly placed amongst the banned organisations of the country and that its removal therefrom is quintessential," the bench said.

"Aspirations of many Central government employees of serving the countries in many ways, therefore, got diminished in these five decades because of this ban, which got removed only when it was brought to the notice of this court vide the present proceedings," the HC further said.

The bench directed the Union government's Department of Personnel and Training and the Ministry of Home Affairs to publicly display on the home page of their official website the July 9 office memorandum through which the ban on government employees from joining Sangh activities was lifted.

"In the fitness of things, therefore, we direct the Department of Personnel and Training and Ministry of Home Affairs, GOI to display publicly on the Home Page of its Official Website the contents and copy of the circular /OM dated 9th July, 2024 as filed in the present petition," it said.

"This is to ensure public knowledge and information about the issuance of the said circular/ OM. Besides the above, within 15 days of the judgement of this Court, the circular /OM dated 9th July, 2024 is also directed to be transmitted to all the departments and undertakings of the Central Government across India," the HC added.

Speaking to PTI. Indore-based petitioner Gupta, who retired from the Central Warehousing Corporation in 2022, said, "I am happy with the Centre's decision to lift the ban on participation of government employees in Sangh activities. It will now become easier for thousands of people like me to join the RSS."