The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined an urgent listing of a petition challenging the police action against students during a protest march led by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) in Delhi.
The lawyer appearing for the petitioner mentioned the matter before a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, seeking an early hearing while claiming to have video evidence of alleged police excesses.
"I have the videos as well regarding police brutality. If it can be listed tomorrow (Thursday)... students are there," the lawyer said.
The Chief Justice, however, refused the request and said the bench was not inclined to view video footage at this stage.
"We are not interested in videos, we don't have time to watch. We don't want to watch videos," CJI Surya Kant said.
When the lawyer again submitted that students had allegedly been beaten and referred to the video evidence, the CJI responded: "Don't waste our time. We don't want to watch any videos."
Hundreds of students under the banner of the CJP have been protesting at Jantar Mantar and other parts of the national capital over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination and demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The protests turned violent on Tuesday after demonstrators attempted to march towards Parliament, leading to clashes with security personnel. Police used lathicharge and tear gas to disperse the protesters, with several students and security personnel reportedly injured.
Notably, the name of the Cockroach Janata Party itself traces back to an oral observation made by CJI Surya Kant in May, when he remarked that some youngsters were becoming "parasites" like cockroaches in society.
The Chief Justice later clarified that the comment was directed at individuals allegedly using fake degrees to engage in social media and RTI activism, and was not aimed at genuine students or youth activists.
