Editorial: Caught on camera — on the use of force at Jantar Mantar

📌 Summary:

• Context: Delhi Police and unidentified persons used massive force against students protesting recurring exam paper leaks at Jantar Mantar, breaching known crowd-control protocols; the Supreme Court will hear complaints on July 27
• Core argument: The force used was disproportionate and punitive — meant to harm and terrorise rather than disperse peaceful protesters — and those responsible, whether police or infiltrating vigilantes, must be identified and held accountable
• Evidence cited: Video clips show uniformed and plainclothes personnel using violence; a senior Delhi Police official seen slapping a girl; another poking a girl from behind; personnel surrounding and groping a girl while others leer; helmeted non-uniformed men beating protesters and smashing vehicles; sticks with long nails; unexplained pellet injuries
• Pattern (precedents): Fits a recurring trend — 2020 JNU mob attack (no arrests), 2019 Delhi Police entering Jamia Millia Islamia library and beating anti-CAA protesters
• Nature of protesters: Largely peaceful; included teenagers, families with toddlers, and women — no evidence of large-scale violence warranting such force
• Judicial angle: CJI clarified earlier reluctance was only technical; Court now has two petitions documenting the force used
• Solution demanded: A thorough investigation into who was involved and whether force was authorised and proportionate; special attention to sexual assault complaints and those targeting women and children; the guilty must face the full force of law