New Delhi, July 22: In response to three petitions challenging police action against Cockroach Janta Party protesters on July 20, the Delhi High Court called for formal responses from the Centre and Delhi Police. The Bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia mandated the immediate preservation of all relevant CCTV logs, PCR records, and electronic documentation linked to the event.
Senior counsel appearing for the petitioners maintained that state agencies violated constitutional protections under Articles 14 and 21 by resorting to punitive force against unarmed citizens.
During arguments, counsel declared that video evidence showed unidentified personnel without uniform badges using force against demonstrators, demanding an independent Special Investigation Team to look into the matter.
Defending the action, government representatives stated that demonstrators resorted to stone-pelting and damaged public property, leaving force as the necessary response. Rejecting the prosecution’s claim that petitioners should individually approach magistrate courts, the High Court affirmed that systemic allegations of police excess merit direct judicial examination under public law, setting September 11 for the next session.
