Supreme Court called lathi charge on students wrong, said- peaceful demonstration is constitutional right

The Supreme Court has commented on the protests by students across the country against the paper leak. The Supreme Court today said that the right to protest peacefully and legally is protected by the Constitution and lathicharge cannot be justified merely on the basis of protest. The bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana made this comment when several petitions were mentioned before the Supreme Court.

It was alleged in these petitions that the police used excessive force against the students protesting on the issue of leaking of examination papers across the country. The Supreme Court said that allegations of police excesses should be independently investigated and stressed the need for uniform police protocols to deal with protests across the country.

‘Atrocities cannot be committed’

The CJI said that the right to peaceful, legal protest is completely protected under the Constitution. As long as it is a peaceful protest, atrocities cannot be committed just because a protest is taking place and if atrocities have been committed, they should be independently investigated. This is not just a matter of Delhi. Uniformity in protocol is necessary. Mere protest does not mean lathi charge. Discipline is an important part of the democratic process. The court also approved the request of the lawyers appearing on behalf of the families of the policemen injured during the incident to participate in the proceedings.

‘It is a matter of concern if someone gets hurt’

Justice Bagchi said that injury to any person, be it a policeman or a student, is equally a matter of concern. We can ask the government why the police were not given adequate equipment to deal with such situations. They should have helmets. All the petitions will be heard together tomorrow.

On July 20, there were clashes between protesters and security personnel during the Sansad Chalo Protest march led by Cockroach Janata Party in Delhi. Videos and photos on social media showed police using batons and tear gas shells to disperse the crowd trying to move towards Parliament.