Don't waste our time, we are not interested in videos: CJI refuses urgent listing of plea against crackdown on CJP protestors

CJP protest latest: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Wednesday refused to urgently list a petition against Delhi Police's crackdown on protestors at the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) Parliament march.

"Don't waste our time, and don't waste your time," the CJI told the lawyer mentioning the matter. The lawyer said that students were raising important issues such as proper conduct of the NEET exam and reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA), LiveLaw reported. 

The CJI cut the lawyer short and said, "Thank you very much." When the lawyer said that videos showing police excesses were doing the rounds on social media, the CJI said, "We are not interested in videos; we don't have time to watch."

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According to the plea, the police allegedly used force against students during the CJP protest in Delhi demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The petitioner sought the top court to take suo motu cognisance of the alleged infringement of fundamental rights and examine whether the Delhi Police acted against binding judicial precedents while dealing with the protest. 

It also demanded that an independent judicial inquiry be constituted under the supervision of a sitting Bench of the Supreme Court to probe the circumstances surrounding the police action and determine whether the authorities complied with constitutional and legal requirements. 

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The plea further sought appropriate directions to register FIRs against officials of the Delhi Police, the Rapid Action Force, and other authorities allegedly responsible for the use of excessive force, if any wrongdoing is established. 

The Delhi High Court, on the other hand, has allowed an urgent listing of a PIL alleging excessive use of force by Delhi Police during CJP's protest march to Parliament. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police on Wednesday lodged 10 FIRs in connection with various law-and-order violations and other incidents that took place during the protest.

Amidst all this, CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said that a "narrative" was being formed that the protestors were not peaceful, adding that the youth was sitting peacefully at the Jantar Mantar for 31 days. He added that chaos broke out on Monday when the police "beat up students". 

“A narrative is trying to be built that we will not be peaceful, but we are. The march on July 20 was peaceful too but there was chaos only at the point where police unleashed brutality and beat up students,” Ranka told ANI.

He added, “The youth is sitting here peacefully for 31 days because we follow the principles of Gandhi and Ambedkar.”