Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Monday said that every lawyer has the right to participate in peaceful protests, while hearing a mentioning concerning the detention of lawyers and alleged police excesses during protests in Delhi against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan mentioned the matter before the CJI-led bench, alleging that lawyers had been subjected to police action during the protests and that there was no order under Section 163 BNSS available in the public domain.

He said that the bench should ask the police to exercise restraint. Sankaranarayanan submitted :

"This is with reference to the protests and that there is no S.163 order available at all in the public domain. We have challenged the vires also of one section. At a time when our Senior Advocates being dragged through streets, physically Mr Farasat was dragged through streets. It was most unseemly. It shouldn't have happened. Your lordships have said we must try to exercise restraint. Once I would hope your lordships to say the same to the police, that has not come from this bench so far. I hope that happens. Because the police, the excesses the police are allowing...the hooligans are running around attacking children".

He requested that the matter be taken up tomorrow along with the connected CEC protest matter.

The CJI then said : "As of now, I don't want to say anything as of now...I am only requesting, we will not permit the Supreme Court to become a...but every lawyer, every member of the bar has the right to be a part of the peaceful protests, wherever the identified locations are there..."

The senior counsel said that there are private hooligans who are attacking protesters, and the police are not doing anything to stop them.

"They have hit children on the head with lathis and proudly saying we have done this. There are videos which I will show tomorrow. And we are told to restrain ourselves...I am shocked I have never seen a senior advocate being dragged through the streets. Two more were detained in buses - Mr Dinesh Dwivedi and Ms Uttara Babbar. It is very sad. At some point, the bench will come to the rescue of the Bar and the citizens of the country and sends a strong message to the police. The cops think they can get away with anything."

The CJI agreed that the matter would be listed for hearing on Tuesday.

Yesterday, in a special Sunday sitting, the Supreme Court ordered that there should not be an illegal detention of unarmed citizens, and that lawyers, journalists and other professionals must not be stopped from their professional duties.