The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea challenging its decision to cancel FIRs against student protesters. On July 20, around 30,000 people marched towards Parliament. The Chief Justice said, "We don't want them to get entangled in legal cases." The court noted that these students have a future ahead.
On July 20, around 30,000 people took to the streets and attempted to march towards Parliament.
New Delhi:
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking an investigation into the FIRs registered against student protesters who had participated in the July 20 protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). The plea came as a review petition to the court's September 1 order cancelling all FIRs filed against protesters between July 20 and 25, except those with criminal antecedents.
On July 20, around 30,000 people took to the streets and attempted to march towards Parliament, demanding educational reforms and the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The protest turned violent after police resorted to the use of force to control the crowd resulting in clashes between the police and protesters.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana was hearing a PIL filed by L Ramanathan, who argued that there cannot be any judicial interference in police functions, as they are "independent and sovereign".
The Chief Justice explained that the Court had exercised its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to cancel FIRs.
"You say we should not have invoked Article 142 and quashed FIRs. Please appreciate, these are young students. We have to see their parents, their future. We don't want them to get entangled in legal cases and have to come to court," the CJI observed.
The lawyer argued that it was important to send a message and remarked that people often come to court as if it were their "private property".
In response, the Court referred to its recent order in favour of 63 Himachal Pradesh MPs and MLAs. The Court had recently permitted the Himachal Pradesh government to withdraw prosecution in 63 criminal cases involving MPs and MLAs in connection with public demonstrations and sit-ins during the COVID-19 period.
"Your petition is basically a review petition, saying our order was wrong," the Court noted.
The bench dismissed the petition.
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