‘Don’t waste our time’: SC refuses to urgently hear plea about police crackdown on protesters

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to urgently hear a petition alleging that the police used excessive force against protesters who were marching to Parliament as part of a demonstration called by the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign on Monday, reported Bar and Bench.

“Don’t waste our time and don’t waste your time,” Live Law quoted Chief Justice Surya Kant as saying.

The petition was mentioned before a bench of Kant and Justice V Mohana by a lawyer, who sought that the plea be listed for hearing on Thursday.

The lawyer told the court that he can present video evidence of the police excesses.

However, the bench said that it was “not interested in videos”, Bar and Bench reported. “We don’t have time to watch,” Kant was quoted as saying.

The petition was filed after security personnel fired tear gas shells and carried out a lathi-charge to disperse protesters on Monday. While the police had stopped the protest leaders from proceeding, some demonstrators moved closer to Parliament and gathered at other locations in central Delhi.

The Cockroach Janta Party also claimed that the police had fired pellet guns at the protesters. The Union government classifies pellet guns as a “non-lethal” weapon for crowd control. Its cartridge contains pellets made of rubber or plastic, which can damage sensitive parts like eyes...

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