A former IPS officer and two persons who have suffered pellet injuries during the Cockroach Janta Party-led 'Sansad Chalo' march over the NEET paper leak have moved the Supreme Court seeking a ban on the use of pellet guns for crowd control.
The petition, filed by former IPS officer Yashovardhan Azad, Prashant Kumar and Sheikh Irshad Mansoori through advocate Vrinda Grover, seeks directions for the "decommissioning or banning the use of wholly or partly metallic kinetic projectiles or pellets, fired from pump action rifles or Projectile Action Guns (PAG) for dispersal of civilian assemblies by law enforcement agencies".
Kumar, a 25-year-old artist, said he was participating peacefully in the July 20 protest when he sustained pellet injuries after personnel of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) allegedly opened fire without any provocation.
Mansoori, 26, said he was in Connaught Place for passport and visa-related work when he too was hit by pellets despite not being involved in any aggression.
The plea states that during the CJP-organised march against alleged irregularities in public examinations, Delhi Police deployed the RAF for crowd management.
"On July 20, 2026, during the 'Sansad Chalo' march organised by the Cockroach Janata Party as part of a protest regarding rampant paper leaks wreaking the credibility of higher education in India, the Delhi Police used the assistance of the CRPF's Rapid Action Force for crowd management.
"Petitioner Nos 2 and 3 personally witnessed that around 4-4.30 pm on that day, the police and RAF personnel incessantly fired tear gas shells and resorted to lathi charge and pushed the protestors towards the inner circle of Connaught Place, New Delhi."
The petition further says, "Pertinently, no water cannons were used, and no announcements were made about the impending use of force."
It alleges that while protesters were retreating, many with their hands raised in surrender, RAF personnel fired pump action guns.
"While the protesters were fleeing, with many raising their arms up as if in 'surrender' mode, despite no provocation, RAF personnel suddenly fired pump action gun(s), releasing a wide spray of splinter-like pellets, which penetrated the bodies of Petitioner Nos 2 and 3, causing immediate pain and bleeding."
The petitioners argued that the right to peaceful assembly is a fundamental right protected under the Constitution and can only be restricted through measures that satisfy the tests of necessity and proportionality under Article 19(3).
"Projectile action guns are per se unfit for dispersal of peaceful assemblies, and the petitioners contend that use of such weapons should be banned or decommissioned in deployment of security personnel when dealing with civilian assemblies," the petition said.
It further contended that the unpredictable trajectory of pellets makes such weapons arbitrary and inherently unsafe for crowd control.
"The very mechanism of the pellets disqualifies them from being a legally valid option for crowd control, as it cannot be qualitatively stated to fall within the 'least amount of necessary force' at any given point of time, in view of its erratic kinetic projectile movement," the petition said.
Apart from seeking a ban on pellet guns, the petition has sought exemplary compensation for all those injured in the July 20 police action in New Delhi, along with complete medical treatment, care and rehabilitation.
(With inputs from PTI)