Supreme Court forms panel to examine use of force by police in Delhi's July 20 protest
Here's the latest protest news from across India:
The Supreme Court on Thursday constituted a five-member high-powered committee headed by its former judge R Subhash Reddy to conduct an independent inquiry into allegations of excessive and disproportionate use of force by police and security personnel during the July 20 student protests. The panel will also examine claims of violence by protesters against police personnel and damage to public property.
Adding to this, The CJP's protest march to Parliament on July 20 amid the agitation over NEET paper leak saw lathi-charge and the alleged use of pellet guns. (RAJ K RAJ / Hindustan Times) A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana shared the competing allegations made out a prima facie case for an independent and impartial investigation.
Meanwhile, The committee comprises justice (retd) R Subhash Reddy, former Supreme Court judge, as chairperson; justice (retd) Ravi Shankar Jha, former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court; justice (retd) Shalinder Kaur, former Delhi High Court judge; Rishi Kumar Shukla, former CBI director; and L R Bishnoi, retired director general of police, Meghalaya.
Notably, The court shared the composition took into account the members' expertise and experience, as well as the need for diversity on the panel.
As per the latest buzz, The committee has been given a wide-ranging mandate. It will examine allegations that police and other security agencies used pellet guns, electric batons, lathi charges and tear gas without adequate warning or proportionality, causing grievous and lasting injuries to protesters.
In further updates, It will also examine whether police responses during protests and public gatherings were proportionate and adequately balanced the maintenance of public order with the constitutional right to peaceful dissent.
On top of that, Significantly, the committee will consider whether the use of metallic kinetic projectiles or pellets fired from pump-action or projectile-action guns should be banned, given the grave and sometimes irreversible injuries allegedly caused by their deployment against protesters.
The panel will further examine whether police and security personnel should be required to wear proper uniforms and visible nameplates while making arrests or using force during crowd-control operations, to ensure that individual officers can be identified and held accountable.
Source: Hindustan Times