Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Pleas Alleging Police Excesses On Students Protesting Against NEET Paper Leak
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on July 27 two separate petitions alleging police excesses against students protesting against the NEET paper leak.
Earlier today, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant dismissed as "reckless” media reports that he had denied an urgent hearing on a plea challenging the July 20 police action against students, saying it was only a representation and not a petition.
The matter was mentioned before a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana.
Senior Advocates Shyam Divan and Gopal Sankaranarayanan mentioned the matter.
Urging the bench to list the matter for hearing, Sankaranarayanan said both the pleas have been filed, and they have been numbered by the apex court registry.
Students have been staging protests in several states against the paper leak.
The Cockroach Janta Party-led march on July 20 in Delhi witnessed clashes between protesters and security personnel, who used lathis and tear gas to disperse crowds attempting to move towards Parliament.
The protestors were demanding the resignation of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET exam leak issue.
Another bench of the Supreme Court has also made suggestions in a plea concerning structural and administrative reforms for conducting the NEET-UG examination, highlighting the urgent need to transition from temporary measures to permanent institutionalization.
The Court suggested evaluating a shift from paper-based testing to CBT—similar to the JEE model—including the feasibility of multiple-session examinations.
Recently, the Delhi High Court has also issued notice to the Delhi Police and the Union of India in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) alleging excessive use of force by the Delhi Police during the Cockroach Janta Party’s protest march at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi.