‘Merely because there is agitation…’: Supreme Court says right to peaceful protest is guaranteed

Students' protest: There cannot be police excesses just because there is an agitation, said Chief Justice Surya Kant as a Supreme Court bench agreed to hear a batch of pleas alleging police excesses against students protesting at Jantar Mantar over the NEET paper leaks. 

“The Right to peaceful protest is absolutely guaranteed. That cannot be denied. Merely because there is agitation cannot justify police excesses,” said the CJI.

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The bench, comprising the CJI and  Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana agreed that the life of every individual irrespective of who they are is important, when a lawyer said that police personnel were also beaten up.

“There should be a protocol in place. There should be proper space and no restriction. But if there are some anti-social elements etc that can be taken care of. This is not a question of Delhi only. Uniformity of protocol is needed,” the bench said.

Meanwhile, the Congress had, on July 21, said that the  police action against student protesters was a "shameful chapter" in the list of injustice inflicted upon the youth by the government. The opposition party said those who beat the country’s youth will have to answer to the ‘lathi’ of the Constitution. 

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The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) also accused the Delhi Police of using excessive force against protesters to prevent them from reaching Parliament, alleging that several students were injured and activist Sonam Wangchuk's wife Gitanjali J Angmo was pushed around.

Delhi Police denied that Angmo was assaulted, saying that the reports were "completely false and misleading".