New Delhi, Oct 13 CPI-M’s Rajya Sabha leader John Brittas on Tuesday said his letter to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant alleging police assault on him during protests in Delhi has been registered as an interlocutory application in the Supreme Court’s ongoing proceedings on restrictions imposed on demonstrations in the national capital.
In a post on X, Brittas said his letter, sent on Sunday following the alleged assault, was registered as Interlocutory Application No. 319609/2026 in the ongoing writ proceedings. He said he had requested that the letter be placed before an appropriate bench to consider judicial intervention, including taking cognisance or directing appropriate proceedings under Article 32 of the Constitution.
The apex court’s office report dated October 12 has listed Brittas’s letter among the representations registered as interlocutory applications in the pending writ petition filed by Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary M A Baby and others against the Union of India and others.
The matter concerns the restrictions imposed during protests demanding Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll.
In his post, Brittas said the registration of his letter offers a “ray of hope” that constitutional guarantees of liberty, the right to dissent and the rule of law will receive judicial scrutiny.
“When constitutional freedoms are under assault, the majesty of the law lies in its willingness to hear the cry for justice and hold power accountable,” he said.
Brittas was detained while speaking to journalists in the Connaught Place area on October 11, amid a police crackdown on protesters demanding Kumar’s resignation.
The CPI(M) leader had alleged that Delhi Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel dragged him for around 50 metres, assaulted him inside a police vehicle and abandoned him on the roadside. He had sought an independent investigation into the incident.
The Supreme Court, in its October 11 order in the connected proceedings, directed that metro and railway services should function normally, subject to reasonable restrictions, free movement of people be ensured subject to law-and-order and traffic requirements, and internet facilities function unhindered. It also said lawyers, journalists and other professionals should not be hindered in discharging their professional duties.
(PTI News)
