Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan expressed concern over instances of young Indian Police Service (IPS) officers personally assaulting protesters and demonstrators, calling it “very distressing” and a matter of “grave concern.” He was speaking at the launch of retired IPS officer Yashovardhan Azad’s book Policing the Republic.
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“All of us are dismayed when we see young officers of the Indian Police Service personally going and assaulting protesters and demonstrators. This is something very distressing to observe. The detachment expected of police officers somehow seems to be disappearing and this is indeed a matter of grave concern.”
Justice Bhuyan also referred to the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment in D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal, which laid down safeguards concerning arrest and interrogation. He noted that the judgment went beyond procedural safeguards and recognised compensation as a public law remedy for violations of human rights.
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“Supreme Court acknowledged the need for compensating the victims whose human rights were violated. Such compensation by way of public law remedy would be in addition to the compensation under the private municipal law.”
In several cases arising from the protests, petitions have been filed seeking compensation and action over alleged police brutality, while families of police personnel injured during the protests have also sought compensation for the injuries suffered by them. The proceedings in these matters are continuing. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court, exercising its powers under Article 142, quashed the FIRs in connection with the July 20-25 student protests.
Read at: ‘Being Part of a Protest Is Not an Offence’: Supreme Court Orders Closure of FIRs Over CJP Protests