NEET Protest: Supreme Court to hear pleas on pellet firing, food volunteer detention on August 3

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear pleas filed by a former IPS officer and two persons, who claimed to have been injured by pellet guns fired during the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)-led students' protest on NEET paper leaks.

The plea was mentioned before the bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, who said the court would take up the matter along with other petitions arising out of the protests on August 3.

The petition filed by Yashovardhan Azad, Prashant Kumar and Sheikh Irshad Mansoori through advocate Vrinda Grover sought direction for decommissioning or banning the use of wholly or partly metallic kinetic projectiles/ pellets fired from pump action rifles or projectile action guns (PAG) for crowd dispersal of civilian assemblies by law enforcement agencies and other connected reliefs.

Protestors claimed pellet injuries

Kumar (25) is an artist who was present at the Sansad Chalo march on July 20 as a peaceful protester and claimed to have received pellet injuries from RAF firing despite no provocation or aggression from his end, the plea said. It also said that Mansoori (26), on the other hand, was present at Connaught Place in New Delhi after attending to passport and visa-related work in the region and had received pellet injuries from RAF firing despite no provocation or aggression from his end on July 20 itself.

The plea said, "On July 20, 2026, during the 'Sansad Chalo' march organised by the Cockroach Janta Party as part of a protest regarding rampant paper leaks wreaking the credibility of higher education in India, the Delhi Police used the assistance of the CRPF's Rapid Action Force (RAF) for crowd management.

"The Petitioners No. 2 and 3 personally witnessed that around 4-4.30 pm on that day, the police and the RAF personnel incessantly fired tear gas shells and resorted to lathicharge and pushed the protesters towards the Inner Circle of Connaught Place, New Delhi."

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The court also agreed to hear the plea moved by Junaid Malik, a volunteer who provided food during the protests and has alleged illegal detention, intimidation and coercive action against him and his family members. He alleged that he was picked up by Delhi Police officials around midnight on July 24 while returning from Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital after receiving an anti-rabies injection.

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Malik claimed he was confined inside a police vehicle for nearly five to six hours, during which he was allegedly threatened and intimidated. His mobile phone was forcibly unlocked and searched, with officers repeatedly questioning him about the funding and sources of money for supplying food to protesters. Appearing for Malik today before the bench, advocate Prashant Bhushan submitted that his client was "taken blindfolded to Mussoorie".

The CJP-led march on July 20 in Delhi witnessed clashes between protesters and security personnel, who used lathis and teargas shells to disperse crowds attempting to move towards Parliament. The protests escalated and spread to several other states.

The protesters were demanding the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak issue. The agitation ended on Saturday with Pradhan's resignation and the government agreeing to the demand for compensation to the families of those who had ended their lives and no FIRs against the CJP protesters.