July Student Protests: Complaints Portal Ready For Launch, High-Powered Enquiry Committee Tells Supreme Court

The High-Powered Enquiry Committee constituted by the Supreme Court to inquire into allegations pertaining to violence during the Gen Z Protests in July, over NEET-Paper Leak and other education system irregularities, has informed the Court that the complaints portal is ready for launch. 

After launch of the portal, public notices would be published in major newspapers to widely announce its launch, the Committee stated. 

The HPEC filed a status report before the Court stating that the National Informatics Centre was engaged to design and develop the portal. Two templates were provided for the purpose - one, for aggrieved protestors, and one, for aggrieved police personnel.

But for smooth functioning of the HPEC, some infrastructural support was required, for which certain requests had been made to the MHA. 

Perusing the status report, a bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana directed the NIC, through the Ministry of Home Affairs, to develop the portal in conformity with the HPEC's requirements, ensuring that all prescribed witness protection measures are integrated. 

During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta assured that if any facility remained to be provided, the same would be provided without any delay. The Court on its part directed the MHA to provide all necessary facilities. 

Notably, the status report of the Committee also mentioned that for development of the complaints portal, the NIC was instructed to ensure anonymity and confidentiality of complaints, evidence and statements to protect vulnerable witnesses.

To recap, the Court has constituted the five-member Committee to independently examine allegations of violence during the student demonstrations at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, and other locations across the country in July. 

The Committee was asked to examine both the allegations of excessive and disproportionate use of force by police and paramilitary forces against protesters, as well as the alleged use of violence by protesters against security personnel and injuries sustained by them.

The HPEC was to be chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice R. Subhash Reddy. Its other members are former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Ravi Shankar Jha, former Delhi High Court judge Justice Shalinder Kaur, former CBI Director Rishi Kumar Shukla and retired Meghalaya Director General of Police Dr. L.R. Bishnoi.