NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday said the High Powered Enquiry Committee (HPEC), constituted to investigate violence during student protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar in July, had received very few complaints from those affected by it.In the absence of sufficient material, the panel was currently unable to arrive at any finding, the bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, said. It gave the committe one month to submit an initial fact-finding report.The bench, also comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi, also directed that all petitions, videos and complaints related to the violence be forwarded to the committee, which was constituted by the top court under the chairmanship of former Supreme Court judge R Subhash Reddy.The other members of the panel include former Punjab and Haryana high court Chief Justice Ravi Shankar Jha, former Delhi high court judge Shalinder Kaur, ex-CBI director Rishi Kumar Shukla and retired Meghalaya DGP LR Bishnoi.During the hearing, the panel told the top court that it had issued notices in 149 newspapers inviting complaints regarding the violence during a march to Parliament on July 20.…
Jantar Mantar violence: SC gives panel 1 month to file report, flags lack of complaints
In short
The Supreme Court's High Powered Enquiry Committee was granted a one-month deadline to submit its initial fact-finding report on the Jantar Mantar student unrest. Chaired by former Supreme Court judge R Subhash Reddy, the committee struggled to make progress because very few affected individuals submitted complaints online or in person. To overcome this hurdle, the bench ordered that all relevant records, video evidence, and filed petitions be forwarded directly to the panel. The underlying demonstrations originally erupted in response to the May NEET-UG paper leak and continued until Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on July 25.
Key points
- A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant ordered all relevant petitions and video evidence…: A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant ordered all relevant petitions and video evidence to be transferred to the panel.
- Former Supreme Court judge R Subhash Reddy heads the five-member team probing the student…: Former Supreme Court judge R Subhash Reddy heads the five-member team probing the student protest violence.
- The student demonstrations originally stemmed from the May NEET-UG paper leak and conclud…: The student demonstrations originally stemmed from the May NEET-UG paper leak and concluded following Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation.