New Delhi: In the first official response to the protests and police brutality in Delhi last week, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant Monday defended the right to peaceful protests under the Constitution while emphasising on discipline.
The “right to peaceful, lawful protest is absolutely guaranteed under the Constitution. So long as it is peaceful agitation, merely because there is agitation, there can’t be (excess)…if there is excess committed, it should be independently examined,” the CJI remarked orally.
“It’s not only a case of Delhi but uniformity in protocol (is) required. Merely because agitation there, doesn’t mean lathi charge. Discipline is integral to democratic process.”
The observation came when a bench headed by the CJI and also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana was hearing a batch of pleas against excessive police force on students who were protesting at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and other cities over the NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) paper leak.
A counter petition has also been filed by the families of the police personnel injured in the protests. All of these relating to the protest and the 20 July ‘Sansad Chalo’ March will be heard jointly Tuesday by the court.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) had given the Sansad Chalo call to press its core demands, including the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The Abhijeet Dipke-led CJP called off its five-week-long protest, hours after Pradhan resigned Saturday.
During the hearing, Justice Bagchi said that injury to any individual is of equal concern. “We may call upon the state to concern why adequate equipment (is) not given to police to handle such…they should have helmets,” he said.
To this, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said: “We will assist the court dispassionately.”
Apart from a plea filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi, many other petitions have been filed in the top court. Pleas argued by Supreme Court Bar Association of India (SCBA) president Vikas Singh and advocate Fauzia Shakil were also mentioned Monday seeking directions against excessive police force like AK-47 in Bihar against student protestors.
They also seek an independent probe into the excesses by the police and emphasize on uniform protocols for the police for handling protests across the country.
On 22 July, the same CJI-led bench had declined to take up the letter petition filed by advocate Narendra Kumar Mishra, observing that it did not “have time to watch the videos”. Later, the CJI clarified and gave interviews noting that since no petition was formally instituted, he could not have acted. “Our doors are open 24×7,” he said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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