NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday underlined the need for police to exercise restraint to prevent protests from escalating and promote dialogue while dealing with agitations, adding that “young people need counselling” rather than an aggressive police response.
A bench comprising CJI Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana agreed to hear a plea filed by a retired Air Force officer, Maneesh Kumar Solanki, seeking strict action against the organisers of the July 20 ‘Sansad Chalo’ march and linked it with a similar pending petition.
Filed by Solanki, the petition alleged that the organisers of the march had incited violence and were not being held accountable. Appearing for the petitioner, Advocate Rizwan Ahmed told the SC that nearly two weeks had passed since the protest. “What about the accountability of the organisers? What action ws taken against them? They are going from channel to channel giving provocative statements and refusing to douse the fire,” he submitted.
The bench, however, struck a conciliatory note, as CJI Kant said the objective should be to prevent escalation. “Even if some misguided elements engage in violence such as stone-pelting, the broader objective should be to counsel young protesters... Any aggressive approach from the side of the mighty state may socially aggravate the situation,” he said.
Also in top court
Police reform scheme soon: Centre to SC
The Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that a proposal has been sent to the department of expenditure of the Ministry of Finance for in-principle approval of an umbrella scheme for modernisation of police forces. ASG Rajkumar Bhaskar Thakare, said that the proposal was sent on July 8 and it is under consideration.
Six weeks to states on consumer rights
The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted six weeks time to several states and Union Territories to file their responses on a petition which sought to declare that consumers have a “right to know” about the quality, purity and certification of products, besides the details of the distributors and the sellers.