A Public Interest Litigation has been filed before the Delhi High Court alleging a “continuous surveillance” of peaceful protesters at Jantar Mantar by the Delhi Police.

Filed by former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) president Aishe Ghosh, the plea contends that such monitoring violates the fundamental rights to privacy, dignity, free speech and peaceful assembly.

Ghosh has alleged that since the commencement of the ongoing Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) sit-in protest and hunger strike at Jantar Mantar on June 20, protesters have been subjected to continuous photography, videography and round-the-clock monitoring through a permanent surveillance tower installed at the protest site.

The plea states that the surveillance is indiscriminate in nature, extending to every individual present at the protest site irrespective of any suspicion of unlawful conduct and encompassing not merely the public acts of protest but also the ordinary incidents of daily life, including eating, resting, seeking medical assistance, and other personal activities.

“The surveillance apparatus has been used as an instrument of intimidation and deterrence against student protesters. On several occasions, police personnel have threatened student participants that the photographs and videos taken of them at the protest site would be forwarded to their parents, guardians, and the principals or authorities of their respective educational institutions. Such threats have created a pervasive atmosphere of fear and have deterred several students from attending the protest, associating themselves with the movement, or openly expressing their views,” the plea states.

It adds that the threatened use of surveillance material for exposing and identifying student protesters transforms the impugned surveillance from passive monitoring into an instrument of “coercion and suppression of democratic dissent,” thereby aggravating the chilling effect on the exercise of the freedoms guaranteed under Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b) of the Constitution of India.

The plea also raises concerns regarding women protesters, alleging that during heavy rainfall, women who remained at the protest site in drenched clothing due to inadequate shelter continued to be photographed and videographed by police personnel, amounting to a serious invasion of bodily privacy and dignity.

Additionally, the petition alleges that the police repeatedly carried out route marches inside the protest site and stopped vehicles carrying protesters for questioning, thereby creating an atmosphere of intimidation and portraying peaceful protesters as engaging in unlawful activity.

Ghosh has sought a declaration to the effect that the alleged continuous and intrusive mass surveillance of peaceful protesters at a designated protest site is constitutionally impermissible, disproportionate, and cannot be justified under the guise of maintaining public order or national security.

The plea seeks to declare that the installation of a permanent surveillance tower and blanket deployment of videographers at Jantar Mantar fails the constitutional test of "least restrictive means".

It further seeks suspension of all mass photography, videography, and surveillance at Jantar Mantar until the authorities demonstrate a proximate, real, and imminent threat to public order.

Title: MS. AISHE GHOSH v. UNION OF INDIA & ANR