New Delhi, Aug. 18 -- The Delhi Police has defended its actions during the July 20 "Sansad Chalo" protest, telling the Supreme Court that it used a graded response only after parts of the gathering allegedly breached multiple barricades and attempted to move towards Parliament. The police maintained that the situation had ceased to be peaceful by then.
In a counter-affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, Deputy Commissioner of Police Sachin Sharma said around 5,000 police personnel were deployed to manage more than 30,000 protesters spread over nearly three kilometres. According to the police, the confrontation resulted in injuries to more than 240 police and other uniformed personnel, while around 200 protesters and members of the public were also injured.
The police said its personnel initially attempted to regulate and contain the gathering. However, protesters allegedly broke through successive barricades and proceeded towards Parliament despite not having permission for such a march. The police has described the gathering as an unlawful assembly once the protesters moved beyond the permitted protest framework.
The affidavit also rejected reliance on photographs, videos and social media reports alleging excessive force, arguing that such material was selective and did not present the complete sequence of events or the police response.
On allegations that police used nail-studded lathis, the police said its examination of available videos found one such object, but claimed it was being carried by a protester. It disputed the description of the object as a police baton fitted with nails and said lathis were used as permissible crowd-control equipment after some protesters allegedly attacked police personnel.
The police further said 2,873 people present at the protest site had criminal cases registered against them, including allegations involving serious offences such as murder, attempt to murder, dacoity, rape and offences under the POCSO Act. Their antecedents, it said, would be examined by a Special Investigation Team.
The affidavit also defended the deployment of plainclothes personnel carrying lathis, identifying them as "spotters" from various police units who had blended into the crowd during the situation. It said such deployments were neither illegal nor unusual during large gatherings.
On the use of facial-recognition technology, the police described it as a proportionate policing measure and denied conducting indiscriminate surveillance. It said the technology was used to identify people with previous records involving serious offences, with field-level verification carried out before any action was taken.
The police also pointed to rules governing demonstrations at Jantar Mantar, including the requirement for prior permission, a limit of 1,000 participants and restrictions on marches from the designated protest site. It maintained that the attempt to proceed towards Parliament went beyond the authorised protest arrangements.
While defending its response as necessary and proportionate, the Delhi Police said the question of whether excessive force was used could be examined by the fact-finding mechanism proposed by the Supreme Court and said it would cooperate with the process. The Chief Justice of India-led bench is considering the police's response, including the allegations concerning force, plainclothes personnel and facial-recognition technology.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.