Supreme Court to hear petitions against alleged police excesses at CJP march

Published 24 July 2026 · local

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear on Monday (July 20, 2026) two freshly instituted petitions alleging police excesses during the July 20 crackdown on

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear on Monday (July 20, 2026) two freshly instituted petitions alleging police excesses during the July 20 crackdown on student protesters in the national capital. The development came hours after Chief Justice of India () Surya Kant clarified in open court on Friday that “no petition” had previously been filed on the issue and criticised “reckless” reports suggesting that the court had refused to list such a matter. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which is spearheading the protests, announced on Friday (July 24) that it would launch a website to archive videos and photographs documenting alleged police brutality during the crackdown. It said the material would form the basis of legal proceedings seeking the registration of FIRs against the police personnel allegedly responsible for the violence. Meanwhile, after The Hindu reported that two unarmed protesters were struck by pellets allegedly fired by Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) said on Friday (July 24) that it was “verifying the media reports”. A CRPF official said no action has been taken so far, as the veracity is still being ascertained. Earlier, the Delhi Police had denied using pellet guns against the protesters. The RAF, a specialised anti-riot force, had been deployed under the overall control of the Delhi Police during the July 20 operation. One of the injured protesters, 19-year-old Sahil Lochab, risks losing vision in his right eye after a pellet pierced his pupil. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met him on Friday. Earlier in the day, during mentioning hours, when lawyers draw the court’s attention to matters requiring urgent listing, the Chief Justice clarified that the top court had received only a representation from a lawyer on Wednesday (July 22, 2026) and that no petition had been instituted. The observations came two days after the court declined to initiate suo motu proceedings on an oral request made by advocate Narendra Mishra to take cognisance of the alleged police brutality during the July 20 Parliament march organised by the CJP. “Till morning, 10 a.m., I tried to find out, no case had been filed... Not a single page has been filed in the Supreme Court.

It was one representation... How can I treat the representation as a writ petition? And people start recklessly reporting this,” the Chief Justice remarked while presiding over a Bench also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi Mohana. Expressing concern over the reportage, the Chief Justice said sections of the media had engaged in “reckless” reporting. “In the last two days, a completely false statement was made that a matter was filed, and the media is absolutely free from all responsibility, recklessly falsely reporting that the Chief Justice refused to list the matter,” he said. ‘Excessive force’ Later in the afternoon, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan mentioned before the Bench that two petitions had since been formally instituted and assigned diary numbers. Seeking their urgent listing, he submitted that police personnel were continuing to use “excessive force” against student protesters. “There are two petitions dealing with the violence that took place across the country during the students’ protests. We have diary numbers, properly constituted petitions. The States are parties. Police are using excessive force against children. It is just going on unabated,” he told the Bench. Sankaranarayanan urged the court to intervene immediately, saying the alleged police violence was continuing on a daily basis. “This is happening on a daily basis... Some controls are necessary. The court stands between us and the police,” he submitted. Agreeing to hear the matter on Monday (July 27, 2026), the Chief Justice said, “Let it be listed. We will entertain it.” Epistolary jurisdiction During the hearing on Wednesday (July 22, 2026), Mr. Mishra referred to a letter petition addressed to the Chief Justice of India and urged the court to examine videos purportedly showing police personnel assaulting unarmed protesters. He had also offered to place the videos before the court. However, the Chief Justice-led Bench declined the request, with the Chief Justice telling the lawyer not to “waste” the court’s time. “We are not interested in videos. We don’t have time to watch them,” the had said. Attempts to invoke the top court’s jurisdiction through letters date back to the late 1970s, when the court began relaxing the traditional rules of locus standi, allowing public-spirited individuals to approach the constitutional courts on behalf of aggrieved persons to protect fundamental rights and uphold the rule of law.