NEET UG Protest Case: Supreme Court Refuses To Reconstitute Panel Probing Police Action Against Students

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to reconstitute the five-member high-powered committee set up to examine allegations of police excesses against student protesters during the recent NEET UG-related protests in Delhi.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, said the court would not make changes to the committee.

“The committee is our extended hand. We will not agree to any changes,” the CJI said during the hearing.

The court said the committee would function under its supervision and added that it would not proceed on the assumption that the panel was biased.

The demand for reconstitution was raised by lawyers appearing for some of the petitioners. Advocate Prashant Bhushan alleged a possible conflict of interest involving retired Meghalaya DGP L R Bishnoi, who is a member of the committee. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan also raised concerns about the panel’s independent functioning.

The Supreme Court said it would consider the concerns raised about the committee member but rejected the argument that the panel should be presumed biased.

The bench also said that a public notice would be issued to allow people to submit their views, documents, information and evidence before the committee.

What Is The High-powered committee examining?

The Supreme Court had earlier formed the five-member High-Powered Enquiry Committee (HPEC) to examine allegations of excessive force and violence during the student protests.

The committee is headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice R Subhash Reddy. Its other members are former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Ravi Shankar Jha, former Delhi High Court judge Shalinder Kaur, former CBI director Rishi Kumar Shukla and retired Meghalaya DGP L R Bishnoi.

The panel has been asked to look into allegations of excessive force used by police against protesters, including the alleged use of pellet guns, as well as allegations of violence by protesters against police and security personnel.

The Supreme Court said it was confident that the committee would carry out a comprehensive examination of the issues.

The protests had begun at Jantar Mantar on June 20 and later spread to several cities. A march towards Parliament on July 20 in Delhi led to clashes between protesters and security personnel, with police using lathis and tear gas to disperse the crowd.