Delhi High Court to Review PIL Calling for NIA Investigation into Youth Protests

The Delhi High Court has decided to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) that advocates for a thorough investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the recent youth protests in Delhi, including a significant march to Parliament that took place on July 20. This decision comes after the petition was submitted by a former official of the Hindutva organization, Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha.

The petitioner argues that the protests, which he claims are not a genuine expression of student dissent, may be part of a larger scheme involving external funding. The bench, consisting of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia, is slated to hear the case this Friday, according to reports from legal news source Bar and Bench.

The protests began earlier in June, coinciding with the launch of the Cockroach Janta Party’s political campaign, which rallied at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The catalyst for the widespread protests was a dramatic incident on Sunday, when thousands took to the streets after police forcibly removed activist Sonam Wangchuk from a hunger strike, taking him to the hospital. This sparked a wave of demonstrations that quickly spread to other cities across the nation.

The march to Parliament on July 20 was met with considerable police resistance, leading to numerous injuries among protesters as law enforcement used batons and tear gas to disperse the crowd. Observers noted that the protests were marked by escalating tensions between the demonstrators and the police, raising concerns over the treatment of citizens engaged in peaceful protests.

In court, the petitioner’s counsel emphasized the characterization of the protests as a “so-called student agitation,” suggesting that the motives behind the demonstrations may not be as straightforward as they appear. As the case unfolds, it could set a significant precedent regarding the interaction between civic activism and state response, particularly in the context of youth engagement in political discourse.

Source: scroll.in