Priyank Kharge’s remark on RSS invokes the question of legal personality

The story so far:

Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge, in a letter dated June 13 addressing the Sarsanghchalak (chief) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Mohan Bhagwat, questioned the legal status of the RSS.

In an accompanying tweet Mr. Kharge asked, “If citizens, labour, NGOs, trusts, temples and companies are expected to register, disclose and comply with the law, why should the RSS remain exempt?”

Dear Shri Mohan Bhagwat ji,

My letter will reach you shortly. However, I thought it was important to draw your attention to this matter early.

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Firstly, congratulations to the RSS on completing 100 years.

An organisation that claims over 60,000 shakhas and crores of… pic.twitter.com/IZy4oeKdMp — Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) June 15, 2026

He raised similar questions towards the end of last year as well regarding the legal existence of RSS. He has asked about the registration, organisation structure, funding and donation and also about the overall functioning of the organisation.

Is RSS a legal person?

According to legal theorist John Salmond, “A person is any being whom the law regards as capable of rights and bound by legal duties.” The term ‘person’ is further classified into two terms: ‘natural person’ and ‘juridical/artificial person’. Generally, in law, a living human being is considered a natural person. However, a juridical/artificial person is an entity created by law that possesses legal rights and obligations distinct from its members or the individuals associated with it. For example, companies incorporated under the Companies Act are artificial persons, statutorily recognised as legal persons.

To be a company, certain criteria must be met according to Section 9 of the Companies Act, 2013. That includes that, after registration, a company shall be a body corporate by the name contained in its memorandum – “capable of exercising all the functions of an incorporated company under this Act, having perpetual succession, having a common seal with power to acquire, hold and dispose of property both movable and immovable, tangible and intangible, to contract and to sue and be sued” by the said name.

In a similar exchange in December 2025, RSS chief Bhagwat described the organisation as “a body of individuals”. RSS in itself is a socio-cultural voluntary organisation with an ideal “to carry the nation to the pinnacle of glory through organising the entire society and ensuring protection of Hindu Dharma”, according to the website.

RSS has been addressed as an “association of persons” according to the Commissioner Of Income Tax v Rastriya Swayam Sangh on 22 February, 1994, in which they have been sued with respect to tax exemption. The Income-tax Appellate Tribunal has referred this matter to Patna High Court to address whether the amount received from members and devotees can be taken to be Gurudakshina (token of gratitude to teacher) and held to be exempt from tax. The court held that the amount received from members can be taken to be Gurudakshina and be exempted from tax.

Section 2(31) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, defines ‘person’ expansively and includes a ‘body of individuals’, whether incorporated or not. Under the 1961 Act, the ‘body of individuals’ is a separate taxable entity comprising exclusively natural persons (human beings) who have come together for a shared purpose.

Generally, unregistered bodies cannot sue or be sued in their own names, as they are not considered separate legal persons.

Also read: Priyank Kharge’s salvo against RSS seen as a move to consolidate support base, counter criticism against Karnataka government

The organisation is, however, named as a distinct party in cases including Singhai Lal Chand Jain v Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on 15 February 1996 in the Supreme Court of India. The case revolved around the eviction of the RSS from certain premises in Panna, Madhya Pradesh, initiated by the appellant, Singhai Lal Chand Jain. The appellant filed a civil suit seeking the eviction of the RSS and its office-bearers, alleging unauthorised occupation of the premises. Holding that the RSS was properly represented by its Manager, President, and a member who jointly defended the suit, the Court upheld the eviction decree.

Registering a voluntary association in India requires choosing one of three primary legal structures: a Society (under the Societies Registration Act, 1860), a Trust (under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882), or a Section 8 Company (under the Companies Act, 2013). The company after incorporation intends to apply its profits, if any, or other income only for promoting its cited objects.

What about donations/Gurudakshina?

As mentioned earlier, The RSS’s legal status came under scrutiny in the 1970s during tax proceedings in Bombay and Patna. The disputes centred on whether donations received as “guru dakshina” from RSS workers were taxable. In the case of Commissioner Of Income-Tax v Rastriya Swayam Sevak Sangh on 22 February, 1994, The Patna High Court addressed the matter and exempted RSS from taxes, considering donations from members as Gurudakshina. Also, the Income Tax Act considers a ‘body of individuals’ as a ‘person’ as mentioned above.

There is the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010, which regulates the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by certain individuals or associations or companies. Any donation, delivery or transfer received from a ‘foreign source’ whether in rupees or in foreign currency, is construed as a ‘foreign contribution’ under FCRA, 2010.

Even for the grant of registration under FCRA, the association should be registered under an existing statute like the Societies Registration Act, 1860 or the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 or Section 8 of Companies Act, 2013 etc. The association should be in existence for at least three years and has undertaken reasonable activity in its chosen field for the benefit of the society for which the foreign contribution is proposed to be utilised. And the applicant NGO/association will be free to choose its items of expenditure (excluding the administrative expenditure as defined in Rule 5 of FCRR, 2011) to become eligible for the minimum threshold of Rs.15.00 lakh spent during the last three years.

How can one join RSS?

As answered by the frequently answered questions section of the RSS website powered by Bharati Web Private Limited, “there is no formal membership enrolment in the RSS. Anyone can approach the nearest ‘Shakha’, which is the fundamental unit of activity of RSS and become a swayamsevak. There are no fees, no registration form, and no formal application. Once you start attending the daily shakha either in the morning or in the evening as per your convenience, you become the swayamsevak of RSS. It is that simple. If someone does not know any shakha or Swayamsevak nearby, One can join the RSS online too.”

Any person who wants to work towards the sanatan dharma can join the RSS, even if they don’t visit the shakas. There is no formal procedure or criterion that stops anybody for that matter from joining the organisation. There is a registration form on the website that requires one to fill up primary details for the same.

What are the RSS affiliates and are they registered?

There are around 32 sister organisations that work under the umbrella of RSS, with many more like-minded organisations. The Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad, the Vidya Bhrati, Bharatiya Janata Party, Vishva Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, Durga Vahini, Dharam Sansad or Religious Parliament etc. The list of RSS‑affiliated bodies is vast and spans every sector of Indian society: students, education, labour, agriculture, women, tribals, culture, science, law, economics, publishing, and more. However, each of these is registered under different laws.

For example, the student body Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad began its activities around 1948 and was registered on July 9, 1949, as a non-governmental organisation (NGO) under the Societies Registration Act of 1860. Thus, the units of the RSS function as registered entities.”

Trade union Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh functions within the legal framework governing labour organisations. Educational, social-service and tribal welfare bodies associated with the Sangh generally operate through registered trusts and societies.

RSS continues to describe itself as a voluntary socio-cultural organisation and a body of individuals rather than a registered corporate entity. Court records show that it has been recognised in tax proceedings and litigation, while many organisations associated with the Sangh function through separately registered bodies. Mr. Kharge’s questions, however, have renewed the debate over whether an organisation of the RSS's scale and reach should continue to operate without a formal registration framework.