sc-agrees-to-hear-pil-on-police-excesses-on-students

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on July 27 (Monday) a plea alleging police excesses against students protesting at Jantar Mantar.

 

The matter was mentioned today before a Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana.Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan made the mention, stating that a petition had been filed and a diary number had already been generated.

 

"We have filed a plea concerning the student protests. Diary number is generated. There is urgency. Police excess is going against students. Something has to be done... the Court is standing in between," Sankaranarayanan submitted.

 

Taking note of the request, CJI Surya Kant said, "We will hear on Monday."The protest at Jantar Mantar began last month on a call by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to protest repeated national exam paper leaks and demanding the resignation of India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

 

The protests gained momentum after climate activist Sonam Wangchuk joined and started a hunger strike in solidarity. Wangchuk was later removed from the protest site and taken to a hospital by the Delhi police, citing his worsening health condition. He ended his 26-day hunger strike at Medanta Hospital late on July 23.

 

 The protests at Jantar Mantar continued, culminating in a call for a"Sansad Chalo" march to the Parliament on July 20. The police warned that no permission had been given for the march.After protestors gathered in huge numbers on July 20, clashes were reported, and allegations emerged about lathi charges, tear gas use and violent actions by the police against student protestors. A related plea alleging police excesses against the protestors is pending before the Delhi High Court, which has sought the government's response in the matter.

 

Meanwhile, in another petition, filed by Satish Kumar Aggarwal, a former Vice-President of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, it was alleged the agitation was politically driven and backed by foreign elements with the objective of destabilizing the country. It also claimed that "external funding" played a role in the agitation.

 

Aggarwal sought directions to the NIA or another specialised agency to investigate the protest, take over all FIRs registered by Delhi Police in connection with the incident, and identify and prosecute those allegedly responsible for violence, vandalism and obstruction of emergency services.

 

The plea contended that the demonstration was not a genuine student movement but part of a wider conspiracy."It is pertinent to mention that, the so-called protest is not, in substance, a genuine protest by students or for student-related concerns. Rather, it appears to be a part of a larger conspiracy allegedly orchestrated by anti-national and foreign elements with the purported intention of destabilizing the country by exploiting financial influence and monetary resources," stated the petition.

 

The plea added that the July 20 protest witnessed obstruction of public movement, damage to public and private property, attacks on journalists, injuries to police personnel and attempts to proceed towards parliament.