Former Meghalaya Director General of Police (DGP) L R Bishnoi has stepped down from the Supreme Court-appointed High-Powered Enquiry Committee (HPEC) investigating alleged police excesses and violence during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protests at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.
The Supreme Court on November 5 accepted Bishnoi’s request to leave the panel on personal grounds and directed the committee to continue its investigation based on the evidence and material already available.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi expressed concern over the poor response from victims despite efforts to collect complaints through an online portal, email and physical submissions. The committee, headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice R Subhash Reddy, informed the court that it had received very few complaints despite publishing notices in 149 newspapers on October 17 and issuing a reminder on October 21.
According to its action taken report, only one complainant appeared before the committee on October 29 and submitted an affidavit. Some police personnel also appeared before the panel.
The court directed the committee not to wait indefinitely for further complaints and to proceed with its fact-finding exercise. It also allowed the panel to examine video recordings and other evidence submitted by petitioners, including material relating to alleged police excesses.
The bench asked petitioners and their lawyers to forward all available evidence to the committee. It also directed that petitions and affidavits already filed before the court be sent to the HPEC for examination. The court reiterated that victims could submit complaints anonymously without disclosing personal details.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan disputed the committee’s report, claiming that representations had been submitted before and after the online portal was launched. Senior advocate Vrinda Grover urged the panel to examine evidence, including videos already placed before the Supreme Court, rather than requiring every affected person to approach it separately.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and Delhi Police, argued that the victims themselves should come forward with their accounts.
Grover alleged that no FIR had been registered over the reported violence and police excesses. Sankaranarayanan also questioned the apparent absence of departmental action against police personnel.
Justice Bagchi clarified that the formation of the committee did not prevent police authorities or their superiors from initiating action against personnel found to have violated rules.
The HPEC also includes former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Ravi Shankar Jha, former Delhi High Court judge Justice Shalinder Kaur and former CBI director Rishi Kumar Shukla.
The Supreme Court constituted the committee in August while hearing petitions alleging police excesses against student protesters during the CJP-led agitation. The protests began at Jantar Mantar on June 20, with demonstrators demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Clashes broke out during a march towards Parliament on July 20, when security personnel used lathis and tear gas to disperse protesters. The agitation later spread to several cities before being called off on July 25, following Pradhan’s resignation and the government’s acceptance of other demands raised by the CJP.
