New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha has approached the Supreme Court seeking registration of FIRs over the alleged use of excessive police force against students protesting against NEET paper leaks.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana agreed to list the matter Tuesday after the plea for urgent listing was mentioned by advocate Fauzia Shakil.
“We have filed a writ petition with comprehensive information, including Bihar firing,” Shakil said, adding that police in Bihar allegedly used AK-47 on the protesters.
The bench said all the petitions alleging excessive use of police force against students participating in protests across the country over the issue of examination paper leaks will be heard Tuesday.
Three protesters were injured after the police in Bihar’s Siwan district opened fire on demonstrators as the ‘Bihar bandh’, called by the All India Students’ Association (AISA) to protest the NEET paper leak, turned violent in several parts of the state.
In his petition, Jha has prayed for a direction to the states and Union Territories (UTs) to register FIRs on allegations of police brutality and disproportionate police action against peaceful protesters between July 20 and July 25 in different parts of the country, especially on July 20 at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.
He has sought a probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the respective states and UTs by a team comprising the director general of police (DGP) and two senior women IPS officers not below the rank of inspector general of police (IGP).
Jha said the probe may be supervised by a retired high court judge and completed in three months.
The RJD MP’s petition comes in the wake of the protest by students and organisations led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) here at Jantar Mantar demanding, among other things, reforms in the education system and resignation of then education minister Dharmandra Pradhan.
The CJP called off the protest July 25 after Pradhan resigned and the government accepted other demands of the newly formed organisation.
