# Supreme Court to Set Up High Powered Panel to Probe Violence at Delhi Student Protests

> A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant signalled it will form an independent panel of retired judges and a former top police officer to examine police excesses and attacks on women protesters during the July 20 NEET march, and is weighing quashing FIRs filed against students.

- Source: India Max
- Canonical URL: https://indiamax.net/article/supreme-court-to-set-up-high-powered-panel-to-probe-violence-at-delhi-student-protests
- Author: India Max Staff
- Section: Politics
- Published: 2026-08-20T12:12:50.893Z
- Updated: 2026-08-20T12:12:50.893Z
- Tags: Supreme Court, NEET, Student Protests, Delhi Police
- Hindi edition: https://indiamax.net/hi/article/supreme-court-to-set-up-high-powered-panel-to-probe-violence-at-delhi-student-protests

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The Supreme Court has signalled that it will constitute a high powered committee to conduct an independent inquiry into the violence that broke out during student protests in Delhi on July 20, when demonstrators marched toward Parliament over the NEET paper leak. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, sitting with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, told the court it wanted the panel to be conclusive and impartial, with a formal order constituting it expected once suggestions on membership are received from the parties involved.

As described in the hearing, the committee is expected to include a retired judge of the Supreme Court, a retired Chief Justice of a High Court and a former Director General of Police, giving it both judicial standing and direct experience of policing. Its brief will stretch across the full scope of that day's events, from allegations of excessive force used against protesters to reports of violence directed at police personnel who were on duty at the site.

The bench also said video footage and CCTV recordings from the July 20 march would be handed over to the committee for review, giving it a documentary record to weigh alongside witness accounts. Particular attention is expected to go toward complaints from women who took part in the demonstration and say they were singled out and targeted during the chaos, a strand of the case the court flagged as needing close examination.

On the question of student protesters facing criminal cases, the bench asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to compile details of the FIRs registered against them, an early sign the court may be prepared to use its wide powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to have those cases quashed once the inquiry is under way.

The case keeps the spotlight on how Delhi Police responded to a protest that drew large numbers of students angry over the integrity of the NEET medical entrance exam, and the coming weeks will show how far the court is willing to go in holding that response to account while also addressing the legal exposure of the students who took to the streets.

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Originally published by India Max. Free to cite with attribution and a link to https://indiamax.net/article/supreme-court-to-set-up-high-powered-panel-to-probe-violence-at-delhi-student-protests.