Supreme Court sets up panel to probe NEET protest police action

The Supreme Court on August 18 announced a high-powered committee to investigate allegations of police excesses against student protesters during the July 20 NEET-UG paper leak protest in Delhi. The court said it will frame the issues the committee will examine, and its order is expected on August 19. The panel will comprise former judges, a former CBI director, and a former state DGP, and will examine all video footage of the Parliament march.

The court heard arguments on several issues, including the use of pellet guns, sexual molestation of women protesters, and the use of facial recognition systems (FRS) by Delhi Police. The court decided to hear the FRS issue separately. The Delhi Police had earlier told the court in an affidavit that FRS was used in 'legitimate state interest' and only recorded faces of accused in serious offences, not ordinary protesters. The police said it found 2,873 persons with serious criminal antecedents.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan pointed out that the Delhi Police affidavit did not mention any internal action against officers allegedly responsible for sexual molestation or deliberate violence. The court will also consider compensation for pellet-gun victims, as raised by advocate Vrinda Grover. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said over 200 policemen were injured during the protests.