Ex-Supreme Court judge from Andhra to lead panel probing ‘police excesses’ at Jantar Mantar

Taking into consideration the suggestions given by the petitioners and the respondents, a three-judge bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana set out the issues that the HPEC will look into.

1. Alleged use of excessive force and violence against protesters by police authorities and other agencies. The allegations include deployment of pellet guns, electric batons, lathi charges and tear gas without adequate warning or proportionality, resulting in severe bodily harm and injuries, some of which are alleged to be of “grievous and lasting nature”.

2. The question of ensuring a proportionate and measured police response during protests, public gatherings, and peaceful assemblies, so as to strike an appropriate balance between maintaining public order and exercising constitutional right to peaceful dissent.

3. The desirability of banning the use of metallic kinetic projectiles or pellets fired from pump-action rifles or projectile-action guns, having regard to the grave and, at times, irreversible bodily harm caused by their deployment against protesters.

4. The necessity of ensuring that police and security personnel wear proper uniforms and visible nameplates at the time of effecting arrests or using force during crowd-control operations, so as to secure accountability and enable the identification of individual officers.

5. Allegations pertaining to the monitoring and surveillance of protesters by police personnel, and the extent to which such measures, if undertaken, were consistent with the protesters’ constitutional rights to privacy and free assembly.

6. The alleged incidents of targeted violence, harassment, molestation and/or any secondary victimisation directed against female protesters, which, given the gravity and sensitivity of the allegations, warrant a focused and expeditious enquiry.

7. The provision of medical and other requisite support, including award of compensation, to victims of alleged police abuse, including the manner and adequacy of such support extended thus far.

8. Regulation of the issuance of blanket prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, so as to prevent their use as a routine or pre-emptive measure that forecloses the exercise of the right to peaceful assembly rather than as a genuine, proportionate response to a real and imminent threat to public order.

9. The establishment of strict constitutional thresholds and safeguards to prevent Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 from being invoked as an instrument to stifle political dissent and peaceful protest, thereby ensuring that the provision remains confined to its intended purpose and is not permitted to operate as a chilling restraint upon constitutionally protected speech and assembly.

10. Alleged use of force and violence by protesters against police officers and other security personnel.

11. The damage to public property on account of the actions of the protesters during the course of the said demonstrations, including the destruction of and injury caused to government installations, vehicles, and other assets belonging to the State and to private citizens alike.

12. The injuries sustained by the police forces in the course of discharging their duties, as well as the consequent mental and emotional trauma borne by their kith and kin.

The court said the Committee should address some of the issues “on a priority basis, foremost amongst which is the matter relating to the alleged incidents of targeted violence, harassment, and molestation of female protesters…bearing in mind the sensitivity attendant upon the issues contained therein”. “Additionally, the HPEC may also examine issues pertaining to the grant of interim compensation to those injured on either side, whether police personnel or protesters…”

The court asked the Committee “to complete its inquiry and deliberations on the issues” 1 and 6 “and submit its ‘First Interim Report’ at the earliest”.

The SC said the “HPEC has been constituted bearing in mind a wide variety of considerations, including the individual expertise and experience of each of its members, as well as the diversity of the committee, among other factors.” It added, “We are confident that the recommendations of the HPEC will be of invaluable assistance to this court, and the committee will be able to undertake a comprehensive assessment of all such issues as merit due contemplation.”

The bench added that the Committee “shall be empowered to enlist the assistance of forensic, technical, and domain experts in the course of its enquiry, should it view it necessary so to do”.

The court directed Police Authorities, Para-Military Forces, and other investigating agencies, who were directed by order dated July 28, 2026, to preserve all CCTV footage, drone footage, body-worn camera recordings, videography, wireless communication records, and PCR call logs pertaining to the student protests, to furnish the entire record to the HPEC and extend their full cooperation.

The bench added that “the constitution of the HPEC…shall in no way deter or debar the police authorities or other security forces from taking administrative or disciplinary action against such of their officers as may be found to be in contravention of the rules governing their conduct.”