New Delhi, The High-Powered Enquiry Committee, constituted by the Supreme Court to examine allegations of police violence during the NEET protests, has been asked to take up on priority the complaints of sexual assault faced by women protesters, the apex court said on Monday.
She also suggested that the court could designate a district judge or another appropriate authority to receive complaints directly from the alleged victims. The committee also consists of former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Ravi Shankar Jha, former Delhi High Court Judge Justice Shalinder Kaur, former CBI director Rishi Kumar Shukla and retired Meghalaya DGP L R Bishnoi. The committee has been asked to examine police’s use of excessive force and violence against protesters, including the deployment of pellet guns. It has also been asked to examine the alleged use of force and violence by protesters against police officials and other security personnel.
On August 20, the top court formed a five-member high-powered committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice R Subhash Reddy to examine allegations of police excesses against student protesters in Delhi and violence against police personnel.
“I am beseeching the court to take suo motu cognisance of these instances,” the senior advocate said. “I request that the sexual assault cases be taken up separately and that the court constitute, maybe not a committee, but appoint a district judge or designate someone so that the girls can actually send their complaints directly and those sexual assault cases can be taken up on a priority basis,” she said.
