The Delhi High Court will hear on Friday a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a court-monitored investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the July 20 “Chalo Sansad” protest organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) over the alleged NEET paper leak.
The matter was mentioned on Thursday by Advocate Barun Kumar Sinha before the Division Bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia, which agreed to list the matter for hearing on July 24. Advocate Sinha sought urgent hearing on the grounds that the protest had brought normal life in the national capital to a standstill, with roads blocked and the public facing significant inconvenience.
Filed by Satish Kumar Aggarwal, former Vice-President of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, the petition alleged that the agitation was politically motivated, backed by foreign-funded organisations and formed part of a larger conspiracy to destabilise the country. He contended that although the demonstrations were projected as a student movement over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination, they later transformed into a politically driven agitation after the participation of several political leaders.
The petition alleged that the protest was not a genuine student movement but part of a broader conspiracy allegedly orchestrated by anti-national and foreign elements through financial support and organisational backing. It pointed out that the July 20 march witnessed incidents of violence, obstruction of public movement, damage to public and private property, attacks on journalists, injuries to police personnel, disruption of emergency services and attempts to breach Parliament security.
According to the petitioner, the nature and scale of these incidents warranted investigation by a specialised national security agency rather than an ordinary criminal investigation by the local police. The PIL also referred to the participation of social activist Sonam Wangchuk in the protest and cited publicly available material regarding his alleged associations with foreign organisations.
It contended that his institutional affiliations, funding relationships and international engagements required examination while investigating the larger network of individuals and organisations allegedly connected with the protest.
Besides Wangchuk, the petition named several political leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Atishi Marlena, Dimple Yadav, Dharmendra Yadav and Chandra Shekhar Azad, alleging that they influenced the protest and instigated participants during the demonstration. It also referred to the participation of author Arundhati Roy and claimed that her presence raises questions regarding the underlying objectives of the agitation.
Contending that the incident involved issues extending beyond ordinary law and order, the petitioner argues that the alleged attempt to breach Parliament premises and the possibility of organised or external involvement necessitate a comprehensive investigation by the NIA or another specialised agency. The PIL seeks transfer of all FIRs registered by the Delhi Police in connection with the protest to such an agency and requests directions to identify and prosecute all persons allegedly responsible for violence, vandalism, obstruction of emergency services and damage to public and private property in accordance with law.
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