Supreme Court of India.

The decision of the Supreme Court to form a high-powered committee comprising jurists and former police chiefs to examine allegations of police brutality against the students who were holding a protest against the cancellation of the NEET examination at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi will send out some powerful messages, the primary one being around the assertion of the primacy of the rule of law.

Hundreds of student protesters — mostly in their teens — were mercilessly subjected to police excesses on July 20 when they tried to march to Parliament under the auspices of the Cockroach Janta Party demanding the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as Union education minister who is in charge of the National Testing Agency which conducted the examination. Men and women, in uniform and not, pounced on unsuspecting youngsters who believed in their constitutional right to protest. Reports and photographs clearly indicate indiscriminate use of lathis and tear gas. There were instances of cops using lathis fitted with nails against the students, an unpardonable act on several counts. There were allegations of sexual harassment meted out to female protesters.

The Delhi police’s behaviour with the students was a violation of the solemn assurances in the Constitution, especially around the right to dissent. The young people whom most the national leaders would like to call the future of the country returned home bruised body and soul, thanks to the broken promises of the establishment.

It is important that their spirit is salvaged and they are reassured of the democratic nature of this country. The Supreme Court’s intervention and the formation of the committee would help achieve that important feat. “Whosoever is responsible, there can be no excuse and no justification. It must be taken seriously and taken to its logical conclusion,” the CJI has said in the court. That assurance will soothe many an injured heart.

It appears that the Supreme Court is taking definitive steps for ensuring that the government is not allowed to use the legal process as a tool to harass the protesters under the pretext of the presence of what the Delhi police call “criminal elements” who sneaked into the protest. “It is the life of students which is at stake. We have to consider this. They have a future ahead. They have the right to protest under Article 19,” were his reassuring words.

The court must stay strong and use its extraordinary powers under Article 142 and quash the first information reports against student protesters. The Union government need not object to it as it had agreed in their talks with the representatives of the CJP that the government will move to untangle the students from any legal mess. At the same time, the government must take action to prosecute said criminal elements. It is important that such undesirable elements do not enter, commit crime and go scot free not only at Jantar Mantar but elsewhere, too. But the high-power committee should take cognisance of the presence of lathi-wielding personnel not only in police uniform but also without and find who sponsored them.

Jantar Mantar should be remembered as a symbol of democracy and dissent. The apex court’s intercession should help ensure that.

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