Supreme Court Petition Seeks Ban on Pellet Guns After Protests Turn Violent

In a significant legal move, three individuals have approached the Supreme Court of India, urging a complete prohibition on the deployment of pellet guns for crowd control during protests. This petition comes on the heels of a violent incident in Delhi, where two of the petitioners, Prashant Kumar Singh and Sheikh Irshad Mansoor, sustained injuries from metallic pellets fired by security forces during a youth protest march near Parliament last week.

The lead petitioner, Yashovardhan Azad, a former Special Director of the Intelligence Bureau, has raised concerns over the excessive use of force by law enforcement agencies in managing civil unrest. The protests in question stemmed from a political campaign initiated by the Cockroach Janta Party, which saw demonstrators gathering at Jantar Mantar on June 6 to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan due to alleged irregularities in competitive examination processes. Pradhan ultimately resigned on Saturday, following the growing pressure from the protests.

The situation escalated on July 20 when thousands of protesters rallied after police forcibly removed activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a hunger strike for three weeks, to a hospital. The demonstrators’ subsequent march towards Parliament was met with a harsh police response, involving the use of batons, tear gas, and pellet guns. This aggressive crackdown not only resulted in numerous injuries but also intensified the protests, which quickly spread across various regions of the country.

In their petition, Singh and Mansoor described their experiences during the protest on July 20, detailing how they were struck by metallic pellets shot by the Rapid Action Force at Connaught Place. They emphasized that instead of using less lethal crowd control measures, such as water cannons, the police opted for more dangerous methods, raising serious questions about the protocols followed during public demonstrations.

As the movement continues to gain traction, the petitioners hope that the Supreme Court will take immediate action to reassess the use of pellet guns in civil protests. The case highlights the broader conversation about the right to peaceful assembly and the measures that law enforcement should employ when responding to public dissent in a democratic society.

Source: scroll.in