The Supreme Court on Monday verbally observed that the right to protest peacefully is guaranteed by the Constitution and that excessive use of force by the police on agitators cannot be justified, reported Bar and Bench.

“Just because there is an agitation does not mean there should be lathi-charge,” said Chief Justice Surya Kant. “Self-evolved discipline is needed, which is essential to the democratic process.”

The court was hearing a petition alleging that the police used excessive force against protesters who were marching to Parliament on July 20 as part of a demonstration called by the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign.

The petitioners also pointed out instances of the police in Bihar using excessive force against protesters who were demonstrating in solidarity with the youth agitation in Delhi.

On Saturday, three protesters were injured after the police opened fire on demonstrators in Bihar’s Siwan district.

Following this, a batch of petitions was filed in the Supreme Court, seeking nationwide guidelines to regulate police action during protests, including a ban on the deployment of plainclothes personnel for crowd-control duties, reported Live Law.

The petitioners also sought guidelines to regulate the use of prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. The provision grants the authorities the power to issue orders in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger.

Further, the petitioners...

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