The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear two petitions alleging excessive police action against student protesters at Jantar Mantar and other places across the country over examination paper leaks. The top
court is set to hear the petitions on Monday.
The matter was mentioned before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant this afternoon by Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan. Stressing the urgency of the case, he informed the apex court that two petitions concerning the alleged violence against student protesters had now been formally filed.
Senior Advocate Cites Urgency, Alleges Excessive Force by Police
“There are two petitions dealing with the violence that took place across the country on the students’ protest,” Sankaranarayanan submitted, according to LiveLaw. He said the petitions had not been mentioned earlier because they were awaiting diary numbers.
“We didn’t want to mention until we got the diary numbers. We have diary numbers, properly constituted petitions. The States are parties,” he said.
Emphasising the urgency of the matter, Sankaranarayanan argued, “There is urgency because this is happening on a daily basis. Police is using excessive force against children. It is just going on unabated. Some controls are necessary. The Court stands between us and the police.”
Taking note of the submission, the Chief Justice said, “Let it be listed, we will entertain.” When Sankaranarayanan reiterated the urgency, the Chief Justice directed that the petitions be listed for hearing on Monday.
“Monday,” the Chief Justice said, to which Sankaranarayanan responded, “Very well.”
Protest-Related Pleas In Courts
Earlier on July 22, the Chief Justice of India had declined to take up a letter petition raising the issue of alleged police use of force during protests at Jantar Mantar called by the Cockroach Janata Party. On the same day, the Delhi High Court sought the Delhi Police’s response to petitions concerning the action taken against the protesters.
