Supreme Court will hear pleas regarding students’ protests today

The Supreme Court will today hear the pleas regarding alleged police atrocities on students holding protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at the Aligarh Muslim University and the Jamia Millia Islamia University.

The court  took serious note of rioting and destruction of public property during protests against the CAA and said it must stop immediately. It said it will not hear this issue in such an atmosphere of violence.

The only thing we want is that the violence must stop..If protests and violence and damage of public property will be there, we will not hear the matter. – Justice S A Bobde

A group of lawyers urged the court to take suo motu cognisance of the alleged violence unleashed against protesting students.

“We will determine everything but not in this atmosphere of violence. What is this? Public properties are being destroyed, buses are being burnt,” said the bench.

The lawyers for the students told the court that serious violence has taken place against the students and several of them have been hospitalised with broken limbs.  “No one can stop peaceful demonstrations. We don’t want any rioting. These riotings have been engineered against students,” said senior lawyer Indira Jaising.

Meanwhile students from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Mumbai University, Delhi University and other deemed institutions stood in support of the students of Jamia who have been protesting against the amended Citizenship Act.

Attacking the BJP-led Centre over the crackdown on university students, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi said the Modi government has started a war on the country and its people.

In a statement, she said, “A government’s work is to maintain peace and harmony, to run law and order and save protect the Constitution. But the BJP government has launched an attack on the country and its people”.

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