Guwahati: Today, the Supreme Court refused to file suo motu proceeding or urgently place a petition that claimed that the Delhi police had acted in excess during the crackdown on the student protesters on 20th July in New Delhi. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant had requested the petitioner to take the matter forward in the proper legal channels rather than seeking immediate action by the court.
The matter was brought up before a Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana at the beginning of the proceedings of the day.
A lawyer asked the court to suo motu take cognisance of the alleged action by Delhi police against thousands of students marching towards Parliament which was organised by the Cockroach Janata Party on 20th July. The protesters are calling for the resignation of Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan in connection with the alleged examination NEET paper leaks, and asking for changes in the National Testing Agency (NTA).
In response to that, the Chief Justice said, "Don't waste our time, don't waste your time; come to us for relief by the law provided for you.
The lawyer argued that the protest was related to the concerns of millions of students and the conduct of the NEET exam as well as the functioning of the NTA. The Bench, however, did not hear the submission, and did not consent to an urgent hearing.
The Bench rejected videos that were alleged to depict police officers using force against unarmed protesters, when the counsel offered to provide the videos. The Chief Justice said: "We don't need videos, we don't have the time to watch.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition, had appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apologize to students who are affected by the police crackdown. He also restated the demand of the Opposition to the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The CJP has also expanded its list of demands. In addition to seeking the release of Sonam Wangchuk, the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, and Rs 1 crore in compensation for the families of students who allegedly died by suicide, the party is also demanding that no no legal action be taken against those who participated in the 20th July, ‘Chalo Sansad’ protest.