Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice Surya Kant on Friday clarified that no writ petition had been filed before the Supreme Court seeking intervention into the alleged police action against protesters during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led demonstrations, calling media reports suggesting otherwise “completely false” and “reckless.”
Speaking in open court, the CJI said reports claiming that he had refused to list such a petition were inaccurate because no petition had actually been instituted before the Court.
“In the last two days, a completely false statement was made that a matter was filed, and the media is absolutely free from all responsibility, falsely reporting that the Chief Justice refused to list the matter. Till morning 10 AM, not a single page has been filed. It was one representation… How can I treat the representation as a writ petition? And people start recklessly reporting this,” Justice Kant said.
The clarification came when Senior Advocate Shoeb Alam mentioned another matter for listing.
Representation, Not a Writ Petition
The controversy stems from proceedings on July 22, when Advocate Narendra Mishra orally mentioned a letter representation addressed to the Chief Justice concerning the alleged use of excessive force by Delhi Police against student protesters at Jantar Mantar.
The lawyer referred to videos purportedly showing police action during the protests and sought the Court’s intervention.
Responding at the time, the CJI said, “Please don’t waste our time and don’t waste yours. Your time is more valuable than ours.”
When the lawyer insisted on showing video footage, Justice Kant remarked, “We are not interested in videos; we don’t have time to watch.”
On Friday, the CJI clarified that the communication was merely a representation and could not be treated as a writ petition in the absence of a formal filing.
“I checked with the Registry and not a single page had been filed,” he said.
Background
The matter relates to allegations of excessive police force during the July 20 CJP-led protest in Delhi over examination irregularities. While protesters have accused security forces of using disproportionate force, Delhi Police has maintained that action was taken after the demonstration turned violent, with several police personnel also sustaining injuries.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court is separately hearing petitions related to the protest, including challenges to the suspension of mobile internet services near Jantar Mantar and other issues arising from the demonstrations.
