The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed that an independent probe be conducted to determine responsibility for alleged police overreach during actions against student demonstrations across several states. A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant asked the central government and the administrations of Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar, Assam, West Bengal, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh to respond. The protests, organized under the Cockroach Janta Party banner, targeted leaks of competitive examination papers. A day earlier the same bench observed that police excesses cannot be excused simply because an agitation occurred. It noted that the right to peaceful and lawful protest remains fully protected under the Constitution.
