New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday (October 15) issued notices on a series of petitions, including one filed by the Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ,) challenging the mass detentions of protesters, journalists and others during protests in Delhi last week.The DUJ has said in a statement issued after the hearing that it welcomed the notices. It was represented before a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi by senior advocate Chander Uday Singh.Singh told the court that over 40 journalists were detained, while their phones, cameras and other reporting devices were seized while they covered the Sunday (October 11) protests called against the Special Intensive Revision and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in the capital city. Senior journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta is a co-petitioner and was among those detained.Journalists’ livelihood depends on these devices. They should be immediately released by the police, Singh argued. He submitted that such arbitrary seizure is in violation of the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court on search and seizure of journalistic devices and amounts to an attack on freedom of the press.Also read: Delhi Police Register FIR Under SC/ST Act Against Journalist Who Accused ACP of Sexual Harassment During ProtestJustice Joymalya Bagchi observed during the hearing that unauthorised seizures of devices and other belongings should not take place. Taking cognisance of the seriousness of the matter, the Supreme Court issued notices to the respondents.DUJ has sought the immediate return of seized devices, an independent inquiry into the incidents and safeguards to protect journalists covering public events in the future – regardless of their accreditation by the government. The petition also alleges that videos were deleted, hampering journalists’ ability to report. It has also sought preservation of relevant evidence, including video recordings and appropriate action against erring officers as well as compensation to journalists who suffered injuries and damages to their professional equipment.Several journalists who were detained and other mediapersons covering the protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party on Sunday have said they faced extreme harassment by police personnel, including the forces failing to distinguish reporters from protesters.Journalists and media organisations have pushed back strongly against the detention and assault of reporters covering the October 10 and 11 protests by Delhi Police personnel and security forces.Another journalist body, Network of Women in Media India (NWMI), filed a petition on Monday (October 12) seeking protection for journalists, particularly women, from arbitrary detention. Senior advocate Indira Jaising represented NWMI when its petition was mentioned in the Supreme Court on Tuesday (October 13).“The aggressive behaviour of police personnel towards journalists…is reprehensible and an unprecedented attack on democratic practices. Clearly, the intention of police was to intimidate and prevent any record of their excesses, as well as of the mobs attacking protestors,” the organisation earlier said in a statement.It also emphasised the law enforcement bodies’ disregard of the Supreme Court’s October 11 order saying journalists doing their duties cannot be detained or harassed.Separately, Amaan Rastogi, a journalist with the digital news platform Molitics, has filed a contempt petition in the Supreme Court against police officials, arguing that their actions violated the court’s October 11 directives. In a report published on Monday (October 12) the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said at least 37 journalists had been temporarily detained in Delhi, Pune and Ahmedabad over the two days.