Pleas in Supreme Court allege illegal detentions by Delhi and Bihar police

Published 28 July 2026 · local

Several petitions before the Supreme Court have alleged that police authorities in Delhi and Bihar resorted to “illegal and arbitrary detention” of individuals associated with

Several petitions before the Supreme Court have alleged that police authorities in Delhi and Bihar resorted to “illegal and arbitrary detention” of individuals associated with the recent student protests against examination paper leaks, in “grave violation” of their constitutional guarantees. Taking cognisance of these allegations, the court on Tuesday (July 28, 2026) permitted the police to continue investigating the FIRs registered in relation to the protests, but restrained the authorities from taking any coercive action against “protesting students” unless they had criminal antecedents. An impleadment application, filed by Junaid Malik, who had volunteered to distribute food and water to protesters gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, was picked up by Delhi Police personnel late on July 24, 2026, while returning from Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital after receiving treatment for a dog bite. According to the application, Mr. Malik and a friend were intercepted by four or five police personnel travelling in a white Scorpio without a number plate, who allegedly seized their mobile phones, compelled them to unlock the devices and searched their contents. The application, filed in the ongoing writ petition by Rajya Sabha member Manoj Jha, against police excesses during the protests, further alleged that the two were blindfolded and taken to an undisclosed location, where they were detained overnight and repeatedly questioned by senior police officers about the source of funds used to distribute food and water at the protest site.

“It is submitted that the next morning, i.e. on July 25, 2026, at about 11 a.m., a senior police officer questioned the applicant and his friend regarding the source of funds for the distribution of food at the protest site. The applicant and his friend were abused several times, kept blindfolded and questioned in an intimidating and threatening manner with the apparent object of coercing and pressurising them,” the application, filed through advocate Neha Rathi, states. According to the application, the two were eventually “abandoned” near the Dehradun-Mussoorie Road, several hours away from Delhi, with their mobile phones returned and instructions not to switch them on for an hour. In support of the allegation, Mr. Malik has annexed an Uber receipt recording his journey from Dehradun to his residence in Delhi. ‘No official record’ Malik has also alleged that a team of 10 to 12 Delhi Police personnel raided his residence on July 24, 2026, and demanded the bank account details and identity documents of all family members. He has further claimed that another police team subsequently picked up his sister’s father-in-law and brother-in-law from their residence in Meerut the same day and took them to Masuri police station in Ghaziabad, where they were allegedly detained and questioned before being released later that evening following the intervention of their lawyers.