The Supreme Court has taken its sharpest step yet on the police crackdown that followed the CJP protests. Hearing petitions over alleged excesses during the demonstrations, the court said on Tuesday that an independent investigation must be carried out to fix accountability, and sought replies from the Centre and seven state governments before deciding how that probe will proceed.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant issued notice to the Centre and the governments of Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar, Assam, West Bengal, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, all states where police action against CJP protesters over the exam paper leak issue has come under scrutiny.
What the court has ordered
Alongside seeking replies, the bench moved to protect protesters in the interim. It barred authorities from taking any action against students in cases linked to the protests unless they have a prior criminal record, and directed states to release any minors still in detention over the demonstrations.
The court also ordered that all evidence from the protests be preserved, including CCTV footage, camera and drone recordings, bodycam video, and wireless communication logs from the period, a move aimed at ensuring nothing is lost before any formal inquiry gets underway.
A day after flagging ‘excesses’
Tuesday’s order builds directly on what the three-judge bench said a day earlier, when it made clear that police excesses cannot be justified simply because an agitation was taking place.
“Right to protest, peaceful protest, lawful protest, is absolutely guaranteed under the constitutional scheme. So long as there is a peaceful [agitation], there can’t be excesses,” the Chief Justice said on Monday, while calling for a “balanced” approach that still allows action against genuine “anti-social elements.”
On Tuesday, the CJI went further, specifically flagging the use of pellet guns and electric batons by security forces in Delhi and reiterating that a peaceful protest by students carries constitutional protection.
Police action during the paper leak protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and in several other cities has drawn intense scrutiny over the past week. In Delhi, security personnel are under pressure after pellet guns used to disperse crowds left some protesters with severe injuries. Nearly 200 people, including both protesters and security personnel, were injured during the July 20 demonstration alone.
The fallout has extended beyond Delhi. In Bihar, three people were injured in police firing aimed at controlling the protests, and a police constable was suspended after a video showing him firing an AK-47 assault rifle during a demonstration circulated widely on social media.
The government’s defence
Appearing for the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that the students involved must not have committed any crime, and that the violence seen during the protests was likely the work of anti-social elements rather than the student demonstrators themselves.
With replies now due from the Centre and seven states, the court’s next hearing will determine whether it proceeds with a full independent investigation or leaves the matter to state-level inquiries.
Given how sharply the CJI has already characterised the constitutional protection owed to peaceful protesters, the states named in Tuesday’s order will need more than a procedural response to satisfy the bench when the matter returns to court.
Curated news reports, in-depth analysis, and special features by India’s Opinion editorial team.
