The Supreme Court, during a hearing on Thursday, said it will not re-constitute the five-member high-powered committee, headed by former top court judge R Subhash Reddy, to examine allegations of police excesses against students and violence against police personnel during the NEET UG 2026 protests.
“The committee is our extended hand. We will not agree to any changes. The committee will be working under the supervision of the Supreme Court. We will not re-constitute. Let this committee function, we will see. We are not running away. If anyone feels the committee has gone wrong somewhere, you tell us. We will give an open hearing,” CJI Surya Kant observed.
The five-member panel comprises Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Ravi Shankar Jha, former Delhi High Court judge Shalinder Kaur, former CBI director Rishi Kumar Shukla and retired Meghalaya DGP L R Bishnoi.
During the hearing, advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing on behalf of the petitioners, raised concerns about retired Meghalaya DGP L R Bishnoi, alleging that he was a friend of a higher functionary who could potentially be under investigation and was therefore facing a “conflict of interest.”
“Our first request is that since the High-Powered Committee has to function independently, it should have a separate amicus and Advocate-on-Record. The committee cannot be represented through government counsel,” senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who echoed Bhushan’s views, said.
CJI Surya Kant said the retired Meghalaya DGP was unlikely to be proximate to political parties in the mainland, considering that he was a DGP of a north-eastern State.
Opposing the submissions by Bhushan, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta asked the apex court to ignore such allegations. “According to them, the entire country is dishonest, except one or two people,” Mehta said.
On the committee’s hearing, the bench remarked that it will pass an order providing for a public notice and responses to the public notice.
“Whoever wants to appear before the committee will be entitled to submit their viewpoint, information, documents or evidence. The committee will consider it. The Member Secretary will, in a way, be the custodian of the record and will place the entire material before the committee. Normally, it could be a retired district judge or some other judicial officer,” the bench said.
The bench comprised Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana.
“We will look into your reservations concerning that member. But to say that a member of a committee presided over by a former judge of this court and selected by us should start with a presumption of bias is something we cannot accept,” Justice Bagchi responded as the lawyers appearing for the petitioners continued to seek re-constitution of the committee.
Solicitor General Mehta also told the court that the Greater Noida executive magistrate who issued a show-cause notice to a student for taking part in the CJP-led Jantar Mantar protest had been suspended.
The committee was formed after pleas alleging police excesses against student protesters during the CJP-led march to Jantar Mantar on June 20 and allegations of violence against police personnel.
The committee has been asked to examine allegations of excessive use of force and violence against protesters by police, including the deployment of pellet guns, as well as alleged use of force and violence by protesters against police officials and other security personnel.
“This HPEC (High-Powered Enquiry Committee) has been constituted bearing in mind a wide variety of considerations, including the individual expertise and experience of each of its members, as well as the diversity of the committee, among other factors.
“We are confident that the recommendations of the HPEC will be of invaluable assistance to this court, and the committee will be able to undertake a comprehensive assessment of all such issues as merit due contemplation,” the bench had said.
The ‘Chalo Sansad’ student protest led by CJP over NEET UG 2026 paper leak allegations saw clashes between students and police personnel, including lathi-charges and the use of tear gas to disperse students marching towards Parliament on June 20, 2026.
