SCBA Prez Vikas Singh writes to Modi, Shah; seeks judicial probe into police action on student protesters
Demands time-bound inquiry headed by a judge of the Supreme Court to examine the unprovoked nature of police force on protesters
Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Vikas Singh on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking a judicial inquiry into the alleged use of disproportionate force by the police during the July 20 ‘Chalo Sansad’ protests by students and lawyers at Jantar Mantar.
In his six-page letter, Singh sought immediate action against the police officers who allegedly used “unprovoked and disproportionate” lathi-charge on peaceful protesters, resulting in injuries to students, lawyers, journalists and medical personnel.
He demanded a time-bound inquiry headed by a judge of the Supreme Court to examine the unprovoked nature of police force on protesters, and investigate larger issues of paper leaks and immediate suspension of the Police Commissioner in Delhi.
Singh sought immediate suspension of the Delhi Police Commissioner to facilitate a fair inquiry, registration of FIRs against officials allegedly responsible for the use of force, and fixation of administrative accountability on the Ministry of Education for repeated lapses in safeguarding the integrity of competitive examinations.
“I address this representation with profound concern over a dual administrative collapse that strikes at the core of our constitutional democracy: the unlawful and disproportionate police violence inflicted upon peaceful student assemblies, and the failure of state machinery in conducting various national examinations fairly,” he said.
The suppression of protesters via government machinery, including using force against those providing medical and humanitarian aid, and journalists documenting violations, signifies a “terrifying” collapse of executive restraints and a complete breakdown of constitutional order, the SCBA President said.
Citing media reports and eyewitness accounts, Singh alleged that police personnel struck protesters on the head, used excessive force, deployed tear gas indiscriminately, and dismantled hunger strike, and assaulted journalists and doctors attending to the injured.
