Section 14 · Paragraph 11. Regulation, prosecution and licensing of public assemblies and processions

Under Section 30 of Act No. 5 of 1861, the powers of the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent to license and regulate processions should be exercised under the control of the District Magistrate.
In most places where permission is granted for religious processions, such as Moharram processions, and public festivals, the route and procedure to be followed are determined by long-established custom or prescribed by a competent authority. In such cases, the duty of the police is to ensure that order is maintained and that no deviations are made from the route or procedure to be followed. If any section or individual member of the community refuses to conduct their procession or festival at the prescribed time or in the prescribed manner, they should be informed that they will not be permitted to conduct it after the prescribed time or by any other route or in any other manner.
In special cases in respect of which provisions have been made by settled practice or existing orders, the police should apply to the District Magistrate and in his absence to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate or any other Magistrate empowered to pass orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and where it is not possible to follow the directions, the officer-in-charge should exercise his discretion based on the previous practice as far as possible. Where it is not possible to follow the directions in the absence of a Magistrate, the police should exercise his discretion in carrying out his work.