Delhi High Court dismisses PIL seeking probe into lathi charge during CJP protests

The court dismissed his PIL, deeming that there is “no public interest” involved in it.

2 min readNew DelhiSep 16, 2026 06:42 PM IST

The contradiction over the use of lathis on CJP protestors in the public domain necessitates “official verification”, the petitioner had said. (Photo: CJP/X)

The Delhi High Court Wednesday refused to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking directions to the Delhi Police and Ministry of Home Affairs to preserve video footage and police deployment records to “verify” the use of lathi charge during the student protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party in the Capital in July.

Rapping the petitioner Nitin Naresh, a Delhi resident who was appearing as party-in-person before the division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia, the court orally remarked, “For everything that catches your imagination after reading the newspapers, you will file a petition?”

The remark came after Naresh stated in the court that there are “contradictory reports” in which newspaper and media reports have depicted “use of baton/lathi charge, removal and detention of protesters” while Delhi police has denied the same, maintaining its public stance that there was no incident of violence or detention by it. This contradiction in the public domain necessitates “official verification”, Naresh submitted.

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Naresh submitted that he had made a representation to the Delhi Police and office of the Lieutenant Governor seeking “official verification of the facts and preservation of relevant records” on July 20, which, he stated, has not been considered till date. In his PIL, he sought that the court direct them to decide his representation and “pass a reasoned order” within a time-bound period.

The court dismissed his PIL, deeming that there is “no public interest” involved in it.

On August 18, the Supreme Court had constituted a High-Powered Enquiry Committee (HPEC) to examine the allegations of police excesses during the student protest at Jantar Mantar. Among the committee’s mandate is to look at the use of pellet guns, alleged targeted violence and harassment of female protestors, as well as alleged use of excessive violence and destruction of property.

Sohini Ghosh

Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express. Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare). Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others. She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy. Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read More

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