CJI Surya Kant says no petition was filed in SC over police action against students

New Delhi, July 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Friday refuted media reports claiming that he had refused to list a petition relating to the alleged police action against student protesters during the recent 'Sansad Chalo' march, clarifying that no writ petition had been filed before the Supreme Court and that only a letter representation had been submitted.

Making the clarification in open court, CJI Kant said reports suggesting that the apex court had declined to hear the matter were "completely false" and based on irresponsible reporting.

"In the last two days, a completely false statement was made that a matter was filed, and the media is absolutely free from all responsibility, falsely reporting that the Chief Justice refused to list the matter. Till morning 10 a.m., not a single page has been filed. It was one representation. How can I treat the representation as a writ petition? And people start recklessly reporting this," the CJI said.

He added that he had personally verified the position with the Supreme Court Registry before making the clarification. "Some Mishra fellow mentioned it. The media has falsely reported that I refused to list the matter. It was only a representation and people started recklessly reporting it. I checked with the Registry and not a paper was filed," CJI Kant remarked.

The clarification comes two days after the Supreme Court refused to take suo moto cognizance of a letter petition questioning the alleged excessive use of force by Delhi Police against students protesting over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak and demanding reforms in the examination system.

Earlier this week, when the counsel alleged police brutality during the protest and sought an urgent hearing, the CJI Kant-led Bench had responded: "Please don't waste our time and don't waste yours. Your time is more valuable than ours."

The lawyer had submitted that the protesting students were raising issues relating to the fair conduct of the NEET examination and reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA), including its dissolution in light of repeated allegations of paper leaks.

When the counsel referred to videos purportedly showing police action against protesters, the Bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, had said, "We are not interested in videos. We don't have time to watch," before declining urgent listing.

According to the letter representation addressed to CJI Kant, advocate Narendra Mishra had sought the apex court's suo motu intervention under Article 32 of the Constitution, alleging violations of fundamental rights during the handling of the protest over the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak.

The letter petition also sought directions to investigate allegations that unidentified persons in civilian clothes assaulted peaceful protesters in the presence of police personnel, besides seeking preservation of all electronic records, including drone footage, body-camera recordings, wireless logs and social media videos relating to the incident.

Meanwhile, the Centre on Friday reiterated its commitment to ensuring justice for students and taking strict action against those attempting to compromise the integrity of public examinations.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said that he, along with Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda, met activist Sonam Wangchuk at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram and assured him of constructive government intervention on the concerns raised by protesting students, following which Wangchuk ended his 26-day hunger strike.

According to the government, it has assured a detailed discussion in Parliament on paper leaks and examination reforms, is positive about not registering cases against those who protested peacefully at Jantar Mantar and during the July 20 march to Parliament, and is also considering suitable compensation for families of students who allegedly died by suicide in the wake of the recent NEET paper leak controversy.

Source: IANS