Supreme Court to hear pleas on 'police brutality' at NEET protests on July 27

The Supreme Court on Friday said it would hear on July 27 two separate petitions alleging police excesses against students protesting over the NEET paper leak and other exam irregularities. The pleas relate to violence during student protests held in different parts of the country.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana agreed to list the matter after it was mentioned before the court. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, seeking an urgent hearing, told the bench, "Police are using excessive force against the students," and added, "The court stands between us and the police."

Urging the Supreme Court to take up the matter, Sankaranarayanan said there was urgency as such incidents were happening on a daily basis. He told the bench that two separate petitions had been filed in connection with the violence during students' protests across the country and that both had been numbered by the court registry.

The Chief Justice then said the pleas would be listed for hearing on July 27.

Students have been staging protests in several states over the paper leak. During a Cockroach Janta Party-led march in Delhi on July 20, clashes broke out between protesters and security personnel.

The police used lathis and tear gas to disperse crowds attempting to move towards Parliament. The protesters were demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak issue.

On July 22, the Delhi High Court sought responses from the Centre and the Delhi Police on two separate pleas alleging excessive use of force against protesters during the July 20 march to Parliament.

The High Court also directed the authorities to preserve all relevant records related to the police action, including CCTV camera footage and any videography.