On Wednesday, the Supreme Court refused to initiate suo motu proceedings over alleged police excesses during the July 20 action against student demonstrators in the national capital.
When a lawyer pointed out that there was video footage showing police brutality against the protesters, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant declined to review the recordings, stating orally that the court’s time should not be "wasted."
Presenting the issue before a Bench led by the Chief Justice, the lawyer requested the court to acknowledge and address the alleged police brutality against the student demonstrators.
According to the media reports lawyer tried to bring the attention of the Judges to the alleged brutal lathi-charge Delhi Police and Rapid Action Force, RAF personnel inflicted upon the students on July 20, “Chalo Sansad” demonstration organised by the Cockroach Janta Party(CJP).
He noted that thousands of students had assembled at New Delhi calling for fair entrance exams, reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA), and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in connection with alleged examination paper leaks.
“The protest is already going on in Jantar Mantar. The police are already taking brutal actions,” the lawyer submitted.
The Chief Justice, however, cut him short. “Don’t waste our time, and don’t waste your time,” he told the lawyer.
As the Bench, which also included Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohan, signalled that it was disinclined to continue hearing him, the lawyer stated that he possessed a set of videos allegedly depicting police officers attacking unarmed demonstrators and offered to submit them to the court.
The Cockroach Janta Party (Cockroach People's Party) was formed as a reaction to remarks by India’s Chief Justice, Surya Kant.
During a court hearing in May, he reportedly likened unemployed youth turning to journalism and activism to cockroaches and parasites.
He subsequently explained that his remarks were misquoted by the media. He clarified that his remarks were directed solely at individuals holding "fake and bogus degrees," rather than at India’s young people in general.
Repeated Courts Rescual to Hear Police Action Aganist Protestors
SC observation to rescue it from hearing the police brutalities comes after Delhi High Court's refusal to grant an urgent hearing on a plea alleging excessive use of force by the Delhi Police during the July 20 protests.
Declining the request for immediate listing, the Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya remarked, “Don’t drag the Court into this. It will come up tomorrow.”
This development comes at time when numerous videos on social media are viral showing police officers, individuals in plain clothes, and non-badge-wearing personnel in blue RAF uniforms assaulting protesters and driving them off the streets of New Delhi on July 20 "Chalo Sansad" Protest.
The police operation has now triggered a political uproar, as Opposition MPs staged protests both within and outside Parliament before marching to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence on Tuesday .
Claiming that the government had declined to permit a parliamentary debate on the matter, they held a sit-in outside the Prime Minister’s residence, after which the Delhi Police took them into custody.