The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear an application seeking reconstitution of the five-member committee constituted by it to inquire into alleged police excesses during the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)-led protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. The application was mentioned before a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana.
Senior AdvocateGopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the applicant, sought listing of the application next week. The plea seeks modification of the composition of the committee constituted by the Supreme Court on August 18.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed the request and questioned the nature of the application. Referring to the prayer seeking reconstitution of the committee and the names suggested in the application, the Solicitor General told the Bench:
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“It is a very mysterious application. Let it be listed with the main matter. The prayer is to reconstitute the committee constituted by your Lordships and investigating so-and-so minister, so-and-so. And they have given names that these judges should be giving, etc. This is not a political platform. Something else is happening.”
The Solicitor General, however, clarified that he was not commenting on the contents of the application in detail and was only seeking that it be listed along with the main proceedings.
Sankaranarayanan submitted that the applicant was only seeking listing of the application and that the issue could be considered by the Court once it was formally taken up. He also submitted that the application reflected concerns shared by several petitioners, although it had been filed by the lead petitioner.
The Bench questioned the suggestion that petitioners could have a role in the Court-appointed committee, emphasising that the committee would operate under the Court’s supervision. The Court also noted that the petitioners could assist the committee by providing relevant information, while the committee would independently perform its assigned functions.
When counsel referred to “serious misgivings” among some petitioners regarding the committee, the SG remarked: “Some petitioners have perennial misgivings about every institution.”
The Court ultimately agreed that the application could be listed and indicated that it would be considered along with the main matter concerning the alleged police excesses and related issues arising from the CJP protests.
The Supreme Court had earlier constituted a five-member committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice R. Subhash Reddy to inquire into allegations concerning police action during the protests, as well as connected allegations relating to injuries to police personnel and damage to property.
The present application seeks reconsideration of the composition of that committee.