1 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 28, 2026 12:08 PM ISTVisuals from Parliament march crackdown in New Delhi on Monday, July 20 (Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav)Hearing petitions flagging police excesses during the crackdown on student protests in various parts of the country, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday that an independent investigation must be carried out to fix accountability.This comes a day after the three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said police excesses cannot be justified merely because an agitation is underway. The bench called for a “balanced” approach, and noted that actions by anti-social elements must be penalised.Police action against protesters during the agitation over paper leaks in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and several other cities has come under scrutiny over the past week. In Delhi, security personnel are in a spot after pellet guns were used to disperse the crowd of protesters, leading to severe injuries for some. In Bihar, three people have been injured in police firing to quell the protests, and a policeman has been suspended after a video of him firing an AK-47 assault rifle during a protest circulated on social media.© The Indian Express Pvt LtdAnanthakrishnan G. is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express. He has been in the field for over 26 years, kicking off his journalism career as a freelancer in the late nineties with bylines in The Hindu. A graduate in law, he practised in the District judiciary in Kerala for about two years before switching to journalism. His first permanent assignment was with The Press Trust of India in Delhi where he was assigned to cover the lower courts and various commissions of inquiry. He reported from the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India during his first stint with The Indian Express in 2005-2006. Currently, in his second stint with the daily newspaper, he reports from the Supreme Court and writes on topics related to law and the administration of justice. Legal reporting is his forte though he has extensive experience in political and community reporting too, having spent a decade as Kerala state correspondent, The Times of India and The Telegraph. He is a stickler for facts and has several impactful stories to his credit. ... Read More Tags:CJP ProtestJantar Mantar protestAdvertisementLoading Recommendations...Advertisement