SC Panel Launches Portal for Complaints on July Protest Violence

The High Powered Enquiry Committee (HPEC) set up by the Supreme Court to probe violence during the July 2026 student protests at Jantar Mantar and elsewhere has launched an online portal, hpec.nic.in, inviting complaints, statements and evidence from the public. The committee, chaired by retired Supreme Court judge Justice R. Subhash Reddy, issued a public notice on October 15 urging people with relevant information to come forward “without delay.”

What the Committee Is Probing

The Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana formed the five-member committee, as LiveLaw reported in August, while hearing petitions on alleged police excesses against student protesters and alleged violence against police. The protests, over alleged NEET-UG paper leaks and other irregularities, included the Cockroach Janta Party-led march to Parliament on July 20, which saw clashes with security personnel.

The panel will examine the alleged use of pellet guns and excessive force by police and paramilitary forces, alleged violence by protesters against security personnel, damage to property, and targeted violence and harassment of women protesters, which the court treated as a priority. Its other members are former 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.

How to File a Complaint

The portal, built by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), offers prescribed formats, with separate templates for aggrieved protesters and aggrieved police personnel. People can also submit material in person or by post at the HPEC office at Shiksha Sadan, 17, Rouse Avenue Institutional Area, New Delhi 110002, between 2 pm and 4 pm on working days, Organiser reported.

Complaints may be filed anonymously. The Supreme Court has directed that vulnerable witnesses be protected and that “utmost confidentiality shall be maintained” over their statements and evidence. No deadline for submissions has been announced.

Why It Matters for Citizens

The portal gives students, families, police personnel and bystanders a direct and confidential route to place their accounts before an independent, court-appointed body. That matters because inquiries into protest violence often depend on whether witnesses feel safe to speak and whether video and records are preserved; the court has already ordered police and agencies to preserve CCTV, drone and body camera footage and hand it to the committee.

The committee has made no findings yet and has been asked to file a first interim report at the earliest. Its work comes amid continuing protests and a wider debate on policing of demonstrations, including the CJP’s Lehra Do Tiranga campaign and the Press Council’s safety guidelines for journalists at protests.

Based on reporting by ThePrint (PTI), LawChakra, LiveLaw, Organiser, Siasat and India TV.

Image: Siasat / PTI.