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Informist, Wednesday, Jul. 22, 2026

 

--HC notice to Centre, Delhi police on action against protestors 

--CONTEXT: Pleas in HC over recent police action against protestors in Delhi 

--CONTEXT: Protestors demanded resignation of Education Minister Pradhan 

--HC directs preserving CCTV video of police action against protestors 

 

NEW DELHI – The Delhi High Court Wednesday issued notices to the Centre and Delhi police on petitions seeking action against police officials for lathicharge, throwing tear gas, and water cannon on protestors in Delhi, who were demanding the removal of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over irregularities in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test examination. The high court directed preserving Closed-Circuit Television footage of the action taken by police against the protestors.

 

The Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia questioned the Centre and Delhi Police on their argument that the petitions were filed for publicity and the protestors could have moved the magistrate court for registration of first information reports. "Is it a case of some isolated incident? No!" said the Bench. "If it was an unlawful assembly, there is a law on how to deal with it, there is a judgment of the Supreme Court in Ramleela ground case)," said the court. "If these issues (of police actions) are being raised how can we say that every individual should go and lodge FIR (first information reports)," said the court. If there was an isolated individual incident, then the case would have been different, said the court. But, this is not such an incident, the court added.  

 

On Monday, tens of thousands of protestors took over the heart of Lutyen's Delhi, demanding the resignation of Pradhan and breaking through police barricades to march to Parliament. According to reports, a crowd of 50,000 people, mostly young men and women, challenged security forces at dozens of locations across the New Delhi police district. Police and anti-riot forces responded with lathicharge, tear gas, and water cannon, injuring scores of protestors.  

 

Thereafter, petitions were filed by Shakeel Abbas and others challenging the use of force by Delhi police. The protest was happening peacefully at Jantar Mantar, said the petitioners. Something that followed was unimaginable, it said, adding that brutality to the largest measure possible has been used by the police.

 

The petitioners said that till Jul. 19, there was no violence. However, the assembly started swelling on Jul. 20 because of the information in public domain about the march to Parliament and it was this assembly that was attacked, said the petitioners. There are videos of several people in civil clothes sitting, and they along with the police attacked the protesters, said the petitioners. There are lathis used by police with nails on them by which children are being beaten, said the petitioners. Pellets and electric batons were used by the police, said the petitioner, questioning whether this was the manner in which peaceful protests should be treated. 

 

If Delhi police's case is that the crowd turned unmanageable, even then there is a particular manner in which it is to be dealt with, said the petitioners. A warning must be given, said the petitioners, adding that there is no evidence to say that this was done. There is no evidence to show that whistles were blown warning children that force will be used, it said. Even in colonial times, these were the necessities, it added.

 

The women students in the protest were molested, said the petitioners and this warrant registration of first information reports. Some policemen can be seen molesting girls and using batons in the private parts of protesting girls, said the petitioners. The crime should be investigated by a special investigation team and not Delhi police. 

 

The petitioners said that many of the policemen were in uniform but without their name tags. The police officials were also carrying unauthorised weapons, said the petitioners. "There are a large number of people not wearing police uniforms, there were many in uniforms but not wearing name tags. They were carrying weapons which are not even allowed in Delhi Police. There is a video of Additional DCP (Deputy Commissioner of Police) Sandeep Lamba slapping a woman who was doing nothing. He should be summoned here and should not be spared. He is walking past the woman and slaps her across the face," said the petitioners.

 

Countering petitioners' arguments, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, appearing for the Centre and Delhi Police, said that there were videos which show the crowd was indulging in stone throwing. The protestors can approach the magistrate court if they want a first information report to be registered, said Raju, adding that they cannot file a writ petition in the high court for this. The protesters have not even gone to the police for registering a first information report, said Raju. 

 

Though the petition looks impressive, it is not so, said Raju. These petitions are only publicity seeking petitions so that they can get limelight, he said. These are petitions with ulterior motives, he said, adding that the persons allegedly beaten up, have not come forward. These petitions are filed to hog the limelight but not entertainable under the law, said Raju. 

 

The Cockroach Janata Party, founded by Abhijeet Dipke, has morphed into a political movement, protesting against systemic youth unemployment, the country's paper-leak-ridden education system, and judicial overreach, demanding accountability and structural reforms for Indian youth. The Cockroach Janata Party and Sonam Wangchuk, an activist, had given the call for a march to Parliament from Jantar Mantar on Monday, the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Thereafter, thousands participated in the "Sansad Chalo" march seeking the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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