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Informist, Tuesday, Jul. 28, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court Tuesday said there was a prima facie compelling case for an independent and impartial investigation into the violence during protests in Delhi and other states demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The apex court said it was considering setting up a Special Investigation Team to probe the violence and fix accountability.

 

However, before issuing any such order based on its prima facie opinion, the apex court said it would give the Delhi police and the Centre an opportunity to file affidavits, setting out their respective positions. The court also said it would give a brief hearing to states where similar incidents of violence had occurred, as the proposed investigation would extend to those incidents as well. Accordingly, it issued notices to the chief secretaries of Maharashtra, Bihar, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, and Kerala. 

 

The apex court said Delhi Police and police in other states could continue investigating the registered first information reports. However, it directed that no coercive action should be taken against the protesting students. The protection, however, would not be extended to individuals with criminal antecedents, the court said. It also directed all states to release those below 18 years of age who had been arrested or detained in connection with the protests and had no criminal antecedents. If required, such children should be released on a personal bond executed by themselves or their family members, particularly where surety is insisted, the court said.

 

The top court said that as an abundant precaution, all closed-circuit television footage, drone footage, body-worn camera recordings, videography, wireless communication records, and police control room log related to the protests be preserved. The police should ensure that the personal information and digital data of the protestors, collected during the protests, are preserved and are not disclosed in the public domain for the time being, it said. 

 

Last week, tens of thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Lutyens's Delhi, demanding the resignation of Pradhan. Protesters breached police barricades in an attempt to march to Parliament. According to reports, around 50,000 people, mostly young men and women, confronted security forces at dozens of locations across the New Delhi police district. Police and anti-riot forces responded with batons, tear gas, and water cannons, injuring scores of protestors. The protests continued throughout the week, with the demonstrators saying they would not end the agitation till Pradhan resigned. 

 

On Saturday, Pradhan resigned from the Cabinet, saying irregularities were found in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduates) 2026 conducted in May. Following his resignation, the Cockroach Janta Party said the Centre had accepted its demands and announced the withdrawal of its agitation over the alleged paper leak in the pre-medical entrance examination. 

 

The petitioners sought the Supreme Court's intervention over multiple incidents of violence during protests by demonstrators, predominantly students, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and other locations in the capital. They said the violence later spread to Maharashtra, Bihar, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, and Kerala. The petitioners also alleged that some violence was perpetrated by police personnel, both in uniform and plain clothes.

 

Family members of the police personnel alleged that protestors and certain anti-social elements who had infiltrated the protest site pelted stones and engaged in other acts of violence, causing multiple serious injuries to police personnel while they were performing their duties.

 

Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the Delhi police, said no excesses had been committed by the police. He said hardened criminals and undesirable elements had infiltrated the protest site and attacked police personnel, leaving more than 280 officers seriously injured. However, Mehta said the Centre and the Delhi police had no objections to an independent and fair investigation, as proposed by the court, into the incidents of violence. The apex court will hear the matter again on Aug. 3.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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