New Delhi: The Chief Justice of India refuses to view video evidence of the Jantar Mantar protest crackdown offered by the petitioner, even as the Delhi High Court agrees to list a separate plea on the same allegations.
The Plea Before the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to entertain a plea concerning the ongoing student protest over the alleged NEET paper leak, after the petitioner told the Court that students demonstrating at Jantar Mantar had been subjected to police brutality, including the use of tear gas and lathi charges. The petitioner urged the Bench to intervene, arguing that the protest raised serious concerns about the fairness of government-conducted examinations, and separately sought the dissolution of the National Testing Agency over what he described as its repeated failures in conducting examinations.
"We Don't Have Time to Watch Videos"
Pointing to the alleged police action, the petitioner told the Court he had video evidence of what had taken place during the protest. The Chief Justice of India declined to view it, telling the petitioner, "Thank you very much... We are not interested in videos. We don't have time to watch videos." The Court did not engage further with either the allegation of police brutality or the prayer for dissolving the NTA, and the plea was not entertained.
Delhi High Court Agrees to Hear a Related Plea
While the Supreme Court declined to take up the matter, a related plea concerning the same allegations of excessive force at Jantar Mantar is set to be heard by the Delhi High Court. A Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia has agreed to list the matter for hearing, after a lawyer for the petitioner told the Bench that the incident "has shaken the conscience of the nation." This follows an earlier mentioning before the same Bench, at which the Chief Justice had remarked that the Court should not be "dragged" into the matter.
Context: The Protest at Jantar Mantar
The plea arises out of protests linked to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a satirical online collective whose campaign gained momentum after repeated leaks of high-stakes entrance examinations, including the NEET medical entrance exam. Protesters have been demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The demonstrations escalated after activist Sonam Wangchuk was forcibly taken to hospital, ending a 21-day hunger strike undertaken in support of the movement, after which students converged on Jantar Mantar and attempted to march toward Parliament House. Delhi Police has said the ensuing clashes left 178 people injured, including 118 police personnel, while the CJP has disputed the police's account of events.
