July 20 CJP protest: No separate probe into claims of sexual assault, says SC
Here's the latest protest news from across India:
The Supreme Court on Monday clarified that there was no need to initiate separate suo motu proceedings to examine allegations of sexual assault against women protesters during the July 20 student protests in the national capital, as the issue has already been referred to and prioritised by a five-member committee headed by its former judge R Subhash Reddy.
Adding to this, (Getty Images/iStockphoto) A bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana shared that the high-powered enquiry committee (HPEC), constituted last week to conduct an independent inquiry into allegations of violence during the protests, had specifically been directed to examine complaints of targeted violence, harassment, molestation and secondary victimisation of women protesters on priority.
Meanwhile, The clarification came after senior advocate Shobha Gupta urged the bench to take suo motu cognisance of alleged sexual assault of women protesters during the protests held on July 20.
Notably, Gupta submitted that there were widely reported allegations of women being molested and sexually assaulted by police personnel and sought a separate mechanism for investigating the complaints.
As per the latest buzz, The bench, however, pointed to its August 18 order constituting the HPEC and shared the issue had already been specifically entrusted to the committee.
In further updates, The CJI shared that the committee had been asked to examine the allegations on a priority basis and submit an interim report at the earliest.
On top of that, Responding, the bench pointed out that the committee chairperson, former Supreme Court judge R Subhash Reddy, had been empowered to appoint nodal officers, following which the procedure for submitting complaints would be notified.
The HPEC, headed by Justice (retired) Reddy, was constituted by the Supreme Court to conduct an independent and impartial inquiry into competing allegations arising from the July 20 student protest -- petitions alleging excessive force by police as well as pleas concerning violence against police personnel and legality of the protest.
Source: Hindustan Times