Families of four Delhi Police personnel, who got injured in violence during the ‘Chalo Sansad’ march of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) last week, have approached the Supreme Court to seek guidelines to protect police officials on duty.
According to reports, the four police personnel are ACP Kailash Singh Bisht, ASI Sandeep, Constable Dheeraj, and ASI Hemendar Rathi. All of them got injured while performing their duties during the students’ protest march to Parliament.
Their families have sought accountability and demanded action against those allegedly responsible for attacks on law enforcement personnel. In this regard, they have filed an intervention application in the apex court though Advocate-on-Record Venkata Raghuvamsy D.
The application seeks to intervene in the pending petitions challenging the alleged use of force by Delhi Police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel against student protesters.
In their plea, they have sought directions to fix accountability on those “responsible for instigating, abetting and inflicting violence on law enforcement personnel.”
The petition states that police personnel deployed at Jantar Mantar and other areas in the national capital on July 20, 24 and 25 were attacked with stones, glass bottles, sharpened floor tiles and other objects.
The families of the four Delhi Police personnel have urged the Supreme court to direct the central government to come up with fresh guidelines to safeguard men and women in uniform from assault while discharging their duties.
Also, it seeks a declaration that police as well as other law enforcement personnel remain equally entitled to protection under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
Supreme Court stays action against protestors
On Tuesday, the top court ordered that no coercive action be taken against those involved in the student protests led by the CJP at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and various other States.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana further ordered the immediate release of minors detained by police in different cities. However, it clarified that this protection shall not extend to those with criminal background, Bar and Bench reported.
“No personal data, details of protesters to be published,” the Supreme Court directed.
This comes after the apex court on Monday stated that lathi-charge cannot be launched merely because there is an agitation.
“Right to peaceful, lawful protest absolutely guaranteed under Constitution. So long as it is peaceful agitation, merely because there is agitation, there can’t be excess…If there is excess committed, it should be independently examined. It’s not only a case of Delhi. Uniformity in protocol required. Merely because agitation there, doesn’t mean lathi-charge. Discipline integral to democratic process,” CJI Surya Kant observed.