Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Monday said that every lawyer has the right to participate in peaceful protests at designated locations.
The bench agreed to list the matter for hearing on Tuesday. Referring to reports of children being struck with lathis, he said videos of the alleged incidents would be shown to the court on Tuesday. Seeking judicial intervention, the senior lawyer urged the court to ask police to exercise restraint, alleging that lawyers had been subjected to physical force and detention during the protests. He urged the Supreme Court to intervene and send a strong message against police excesses, stating that lawyers and citizens should not be left without protection.
Sankaranarayanan raised concerns over the alleged police action against lawyers and the absence of an order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in the public domain.
The observations were made when a bench comprising the CJI and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana was told by senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan that lawyers were detained and that there were instances of “police excesses” during demonstrations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Election Commission. Describing the incident as “most unseemly”, the senior counsel said that the Supreme Court had repeatedly urged lawyers to exercise restraint and expressed hope that a similar message would be conveyed to police.
