‘Can't Lathicharge Just Because There Is Agitation’: SC On Police Action During Student Protests
‘Can't Lathicharge Just Because There Is Agitation’: SC On Police Action During Student Protests Published By, Last Updated: July 27, 2026, 11:50 IST The bench
‘Can't Lathicharge Just Because There Is Agitation’: SC On Police Action During Student Protests Published By, Last Updated: July 27, 2026, 11:50 IST The bench said that allegations of police excess should be independently examined and stressed the need for uniform police protocols for handling demonstrations. Rapid Read The court made the observation as fresh batch of petitions regarding lathi-charge on protesters in various parts of the country were mentioned before it. Supreme Court On NEET Protest: The Supreme Court on Monday observed that that a lathi-charge cannot be launched merely because there is an agitation, stressing that the right to peaceful and lawful protest is guaranteed under the Constitution. While hearing a batch of petitions alleging excessive police force against student protesters during the Cockroach Janata Party’s (CJP) march in Delhi over the NEET paper leak row, a bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana said that allegations of police excess should be independently examined and stressed the need for uniform police protocols for handling demonstrations across the country. “Right to peaceful, lawful protest absolutely guaranteed under Constitution. So long as it is peaceful agitation, merely because there is agitation, there can’t be excess…If there is excess committed, it should be independently examined. It’s not only a case of Delhi. Uniformity in protocol required. Merely because agitation there, doesn’t mean lathi-charge.
Discipline integral to democratic process," Kant observed orally as quoted by LiveLaw. The Bench also allowed a lawyer representing families of injured police personnel to participate in the proceedings. Justice Joymalya Bagchi remarked that injuries suffered by both protesters and police personnel were matters of equal concern and suggested that states may be asked why adequate protective equipment, including helmets, was not provided to them. “Injury to individual, be it to policemen or [students], is of equal concern. We may call upon state to concern why adequate equipment not given to police to handle such…they should have helmets," Justice Bagchi said. The Supreme Court said all petitions relating to the issue would be heard together on Tuesday. What Protesters Allege? The petitioners have sought an independent inquiry into the alleged police action during the July 20 student protest in Delhi, where protesting marching towards the Parliament over examination paper leak allegations and demanding the resignation of the then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan were allegedly met with tear gas, baton charges, barricading and detentions. One of the petitions has been filed by a group of students who claimed they they were beaten during the protests. One of the petitions also claimed that AK-47 rifles were used against protesters in Bihar’s Siwan. The petitioners have also sought guidelines regulating police action during public protests, including a ban on deploying plainclothes personnel for crowd control, standard operating procedures for the use of prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and safeguards against the misuse of Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The BriefWire