The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined an urgent request to hear a plea challenging the police action against students during Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) protest march in Delhi, with Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant saying the court was not inclined to examine video footage at the mentioning stage.
The matter was mentioned before a bench comprising CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, with the petitioner's counsel seeking an early listing of the case, citing alleged police brutality against students during the protest.
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"I have the videos as well regarding police brutality... If it can be listed tomorrow (Thursday)... students are there," the lawyer told the bench, adding that the petition contained three prayers.
CJI turned down the request, saying, "We are not interested in videos, we don't have time to watch... We don't want to watch videos."
When the counsel reiterated that students had allegedly been beaten up and again referred to video evidence, the CJI responded, "Don't waste our time. We don't want to watch any videos."
Plea stems from CJP-led Parliament march
The plea arises from the police action during the Cockroach Janta Party's protest march to Parliament on Monday, the opening day of the Monsoon session, when thousands of students and young protesters gathered in central Delhi demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged examination irregularities.
The demonstration turned violent after protesters attempted to move towards Parliament, leading to clashes with security personnel. Police used lathis and tear gas to disperse the crowds during the march.
On Wednesday, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) national spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka on Wednesday warned of a larger mobilisation if the Centre did not accept the party's demands, describing the July 20 protest march as "just a trailer" and claiming that "millions more" people would come to Delhi if the government failed to act.
'Biggest movement in post-independence history'
Speaking to ANI, Ranka called the agitation the "biggest movement in India's post-independence history" and alleged that the July 20 march had remained peaceful until police used force against demonstrators. He claimed students were assaulted during the march and said protesters had been staging a peaceful sit-in at Jantar Mantar for the past 31 days, following the principles of Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar.
Ranka also reiterated the party's demand that no FIRs, including any future cases, be registered against protesters, asserting that the agitation would continue until the demand was met.
Referring to earlier remarks by CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, he said the party's leadership was prepared to face arrest under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the National Security Act (NSA), describing imprisonment as "a small price to pay" for the movement.
"The youth of this country will no longer remain silent. We have been distracted by too many unnecessary issues. Now we are standing up for the real issues, and we are not going to back down," Ranka told PTI.
He also appealed to people across political parties, including the BJP, to support the agitation, saying its demands were "genuine" and that the party welcomed support from all sections.
