Delhi High Court Demands Accountability Over Police Action During Protest

Court Seeks Responses on Police Conduct

On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court requested responses from both the central government and the local police regarding allegations of excessive force used against demonstrators during the march to Parliament on July 20.

A panel consisting of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia instructed the authorities to maintain all pertinent records related to the police's actions, including any CCTV footage and video documentation.

The court issued a notice concerning the public interest litigations (PILs) and granted a four-week period for the authorities to submit their counter affidavits.

The court stated, "Let a counter affidavit be filed on behalf of the respondents within four weeks."

Additionally, it mandated that all relevant records concerning the incident, as outlined in the writ petitions, including CCTV footage and videography, be preserved according to the standard operating procedures of the Delhi Police or the Union of India.

The case is scheduled for a follow-up hearing on September 11.

Senior advocates N Hariharan, Vikas Singh, and Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing the petitioners, argued that the police had employed excessive force against the protesters, which included women and children.

They called for an investigation into the matter, emphasizing that the protesters were exercising their fundamental right to peacefully demonstrate against irregularities in the NEET examination.

In response, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju contended that the petitions were based on social media claims and were therefore not valid.