CJI says women protestors can file sexual assault complaints against police, with panel probing NEET protest violence

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

The Supreme Court has constituted the high-powered enquiry committee on August 20 to probe issues and allegations, including those of police excesses against students, surrounding the nationwide protests against NEET-UG paper leaks. | Photo Credit: The Hindu

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Monday (August 24, 2026) assured that women protestors can directly approach the nodal officer of the High Powered Enquiry Committee (HPEC) with complaints of sexual molestation against police personnel during the crackdown on NEET-UG protests on July 20.

The court’s explanation came in response to an oral mentioning made by senior advocate Shobha Gupta.

Ms. Gupta said there should be separate, sensitive mechanism for women protestors to file their complaints and seek legal action against police personnel.

Chief Justice Kant said an HPEC has already been formed, and a direction has been given to take complaints involving police abuse priority attention.

The Supreme Court constituted the high-powered enquiry committee on August 20, to be headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice R. Subhash Reddy, to probe issues and allegations, including those of police excesses against students, surrounding the nationwide protests against NEET-UG paper leaks.

The court suggested the panel take up, on a priority basis, allegations of targeted violence, harassment, and molestation of female protestors. It was urged to assess the grievous harm and injury allegedly caused to protestors by police authorities and security personnel.

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.