New Delhi: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Monday (July 27) orally observed that the right to peaceful protest is “absolutely guaranteed under the constitution”. Further, the Supreme Court bench underlined that mere agitation cannot justify a lathi-charge and cases of police excesses should be independently examined. This is a departure from the CJI’s earlier stance, when he told a lawyer who mentioned a petition on police brutality against protestors participating in nationwide protests over paper leaks: “Don’t waste our time, and don’t waste your time.”Besides Kant, the bench comprising of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana made the comments while mentioning a batch of petitions before the Supreme Court, alleging excessive use of police force against students participating in protests across the country over the issue of examination paper leaks and demand for the resignation of former education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Live Law reported.A poster pasted on a wall near Jantar Mantar in New Delhi reads, “Dande Matar”. Photo: Special Arrangement.“Right to peaceful, lawful protest absolutely guaranteed under constitution. So long as it is peaceful agitation, merely because there is agitation, there can’t be [excess]…If there is excess committed, it should be independently examined. It’s not only a case of Delhi. Uniformity in protocol required. Merely because agitation there, doesn’t mean lathi-charge. Discipline integral to democratic process,” CJI Kant orally observed.While the nationwide youth-led movement was ongoing, CJI Kant had said on July 22 that he was not interested in watching videos of police brutality on protesters on July 20, resulting in criticism from several quarters.Also read: Neem ka Patta Kadwa Hai…Offended by B*, C*, M* and F* Words?Even on July 21, when a petitioner requested that the Delhi high court to list a plea alleging excessive use of force by police against protesters, Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya said, “Don’t drag the court into all this.”Later, on Friday (July 24) the CJI said that the matter would be entertained after it was mentioned by senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan for urgent listing. Kant also clarified that the listing was earlier denied as there was no properly filed petition before the court at the time.Notably, police carried out lathi charge, used tear gas shells, and even pellet guns and nail-studded batons to disperse protestors during the ‘Sansad Chalo’ march on July 20. Although the police continued to deny any violence, it was recorded by journalists and demonstrators themselves.The Supreme Court has also allowed request of a counsel, appearing for families of policemen injured during the protests, to participate in the proceedings.“Injury to individual, be it to policemen or [students], is of equal concern. We may call upon state to concern why adequate equipment not given to police to handle such…they should have helmets,” Justice Bagchi was quoted as saying by Live Law.The petitions are listed for hearing tomorrow.Also read: Delhi Police Asks Social Media Platforms to Remove Posts Targeting PM Modi: ReportsThe Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which started the agitation in Jantar Mantar that forced Pradhan to resign, was formed following CJI Kant’s remarks on May 15 saying, “There are youngsters like cockroaches, who don’t get any employment and don’t have any place in profession.”A day after the comment was widely criticised, CJI Kant on May 16 issued a clarification saying that a section of the media had “misquoted him.”“I am pained to read how a section of the media has misquoted my oral observations made during the hearing of a frivolous case yesterday. What I had specifically criticised were those who have entered professions like the Bar (legal profession) with the aid of fake and bogus degrees. Similar persons have sneaked into the media, social media, and other noble professions as well, and hence, they are like parasites,” the CJI had said.Also read: Closing Metro Stations, Tracing Restaurants Serving Protesters: How the Modi Government Lost Its Moral CompassIn a recent interview with Bar and Bench’s Debayan Roy, Kant again stated that his observation was quoted “completely out of context”.“Completely out of context. Completely. Let me share the background. The matter being discussed concerned lawyers who had entered the profession on the basis of fake or false law degrees. By fake degrees, I mean unrecognised degrees. Some people had never attended law colleges. Sitting at home, they somehow obtained degrees. I am told there are about 48,000 such lawyers in the country whose law degrees were never issued by the universities they claim,” CJI Kant said in the interview.