India rejects UN rapporteur’s youth protest claims as hearsay

India has rejected as 'hearsay' a UN report by special rapporteur Gina Romero that said young people in the country face retaliation for discussing mental health or gender justice. Speaking at the UN General Assembly's Third Committee on 17 October, first secretary Anuj Swarup said the report relied on anonymous and unverified submissions. 'A sweeping charge against the world's largest youth population, resting on anonymous and unverified claims, is not evidence. It is hearsay dressed up as a UN report,' he said.

Romero had alleged in posts on X on 10 October that peaceful youth protesters faced excessive force and arbitrary detention, and that more than 2,500 protesters had been sent to remote detention centres without legal support. Swarup said India's Constitution guarantees freedom of assembly and speech under Article 19, protected by an independent judiciary. He cited the government's engagement with students who protested over exam irregularities this summer, noting that Parliament amended the Public Examinations Act, doubled punishments for paper leaks and created fast-track courts.