The Supreme Court has constituted a High-Powered Enquiry Committee(HPEC) headed by Justice (Retd.) R. Subhash Reddy, Former Judge of the Supreme Court of India for an independent and impartial investigation into the alleged acts of violence during the NEET Paper Leak protests.

The HPEC shall also consist of Justice Ravi Shankar Jha, Former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court; Mrs. Justice Shalinder Kaur, Former Judge of the Delhi High Court; Rishi Kumar Shukla, Former Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Dr. L.R. Bishnoi, Retired Director General of Police, Meghalaya as Members.

HPEC shall look into the following issues:

1. The use of excessive force and violence against protestors by police authorities and other agencies, including the 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 a 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 the maintenance of public order and the 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 occasioned by their deployment against protestors;

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. An enquiry into the allegations pertaining to the monitoring and surveillance of protestors by police personnel, and the extent to which such measures, if undertaken, were consistent with the protestors’ constitutional rights to privacy and free assembly

6. The alleged incidents of targeted violence, harassment, molestation and/or any secondary victimisation directed against female protestors, 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; and

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.

The top court has clarified that the enquiry undertaken by the HPEC shall not be a one-time exercise rather, the Committee shall undertake a continuous and periodic assessment of the issues enumerated hereinabove, and shall submit its interim findings periodically so as to enable this Court to take appropriate measures and issue such directions as may be warranted.

CJI Surya Kant led bench has recommended that the HPEC address certain issues on a priority basis, foremost amongst which is the matter relating to the alleged incidents of targeted violence, harassment, and molestation of female protestors. Similarly, the HPEC may also assess the grievous harm and injury allegedly caused to protestors by police authorities and security personnel, and investigate aspects such as the chain of command resulting in such excesses, those responsible for such actions and whether there were any breaches of any of the existing laws, rules or norms in exercising such force. Additionally, the HPEC may also examine issues pertaining to the grant of interim compensation to those injured on either side, whether police personnel or protestors.

The Supreme Court recently revealed that it had finalised the constitution of a High Powered Committee to look into all aspects pertaining to the NEET Paper Leak protests.

Notably, the court has been hearing the issue for few weeks now and had recently directed that the State government that they are at liberty to withdraw FIRs registered against the protestors involved in the recent protests that happened in various parts of the country over the NEET paper leak. As a CJI Surya Kant led bench clarified that those FIRs registered against persons who are already accused of grave and heinous offences may not be withdrawn, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the bench that 2700 such FIRs shall not be withdrawn.

Case Title: SHAILENDRA MANI TRIPATHI vs UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

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