Supreme Court: No blanket ban on use of pellet guns for crowd control
The Supreme Court of India declined to issue a blanket ban on the use of pellet guns for crowd control, citing that police regulations already permit their use in exceptional circumstances. The court directed the government to preserve logs related to a specific protest incident while noting that petitioners must challenge the underlying regulations if they seek a total ban.
Why it matters
The ruling highlights the legal tension between maintaining public order and protecting human rights during civil unrest.
NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Thursday directed Delhi government to provide treatment to those injured during students’ protests but found a plea for ban on use of pellet guns for crowd control vague and asked when police are permitted to fire bullets in extreme situations, how could pellet guns be banned.Appearing for petitioners, advocate Vrinda Grover questioned the legality of Rapid Action Force using pellet guns against student protesters on July 20 at Jantar Mantar, and urged the SC to direct the Union govt to preserve the ammunition log of RAF during their deployment at the protest site and award exemplary compensation to those injured by metallic pellets.The petition was filed by Sheikh Irshad Mansoori and Prashant Kumar Singh, who suffered injuries from pellet guns on July 20, and former IPS officer Yashovardhan Azad.A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana directed preservation of…
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