The Supreme Court on Wednesday stressed the need for law enforcement agencies to exercise restraint while dealing with protests, observing that young people should be counselled and pacified even if some “misguided elements” resort to stone-pelting.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana agreed to hear a plea seeking action against the organisers of the 20 July ‘Sansad Chalo’ march for allegedly inciting violence. The court tagged the petition with a similar plea already pending before it.
Appearing for petitioner and retired Air Force officer Maneesh Kumar Solanki, advocate Rizwan Ahmed argued that 15 days had passed since the protest and questioned the lack of accountability for its organisers.
“They are going from channel to channel giving provocative statements and refusing to douse the fire,” Ahmed submitted.
Referring to a recent law and order incident in Rajasthan, the counsel argued that governments should not “bend backwards” to accommodate protesters.
He said that if authorities showed excessive leniency in the national capital, it could set a precedent for handling similar protests elsewhere.
Responding to the submissions, Chief Justice Kant observed that even if some “misguided elements” were involved in stone-pelting, the appropriate response was to counsel and calm young protesters.
“They need advice and counselling. Any aggressive approach from the side of the mighty State may socially aggravate the situation and precipitate further violence. That needs to be avoided,” the Chief Justice said.
The petitioner’s counsel maintained that those involved in violence should not escape accountability.
He also argued that Parliament was the “temple of democracy” and questioned the security implications of protesters allegedly attempting to enter the complex.
“What if they had opened fire? They were marching towards the temple of democracy. Everyone must be held accountable,” he said.
The Bench, however, reiterated that the priority should be to facilitate peaceful protests while ensuring that the police respond with restraint if violence occurs.
“What is important is to promote a peaceful march. If some incident takes place, the police also need to exercise a great deal of restraint to ensure that the situation does not go out of hand. Wherever such incidents take place, we need to deal with them very carefully,” the Chief Justice observed.
He added that listening to protesters was often the most effective way to prevent violence.
“We need to tread carefully, so that these youngsters do not indulge in violence. The better course is to counsel them and pacify them. The most powerful tool is listening. Listen to them and understand why they are shouting,” he said.
The Chief Justice added that law enforcement agencies were best placed to decide how to handle such situations.
The petition also sought directions to identify those who allegedly used derogatory language against police and security personnel and require them to perform community service.
(With inputs from PTI)
