Lathicharge scenes from the Tolstoy Marg area on July 20. (Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav)The Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear pleas alleging police brutality against protesters in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and elsewhere. During the hearing yesterday, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant had said, “Right to protest, peaceful protest, lawful protest, is absolutely guaranteed under the constitutional scheme. So long as there is a peaceful agitation, merely because there is an agitation, there can’t be excesses”.Plea before court: The petitions, including one by RJD Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha, seek a direction to states and Union Territories to register FIRs on allegations of police brutality and disproportionate police action against peaceful protestors between July 20 and July 25. It has sought a probe into these FIRs by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising the Director General of Police and two senior women IPS officers not below the rank of Inspector General of Police, guided by a retired High Court judge and monitored by the Supreme Court. Live UpdatesJul 28, 2026 10:55 AM ISTCJP Protest Hearing Live Updates: CJI's remarksDuring the hearing yesterday, the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant had said that the right to peaceful protest, lawful protest, is guaranteed under the constitutional scheme. He further added that merely because there is an agitation, there can’t be excesses. “There should be a protocol in place. If they want to agitate on an issue… They should be provided with proper space… There should be no restriction or impediment in that. But if there is someone else, some anti-social element, or somebody has done anything wrong, that of course can be taken care of,” the CJI said.Jul 28, 2026 10:46 AM ISTCJP Protest Hearing Live Updates: Hearing shortlyA three judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant to shortly hear plea alleging excessive use of force against NEET protesters in Delhi and elsewhere.© IE Online Media Services Pvt LtdTags:supreme court