NEET UG 2026 Update: Supreme Court Says No to Reconstitution of High-Powered Committee

The Supreme Court has declined to entertain any suggestion for setting up a five-member High-Powered Enquiry Committee (HPEC), constituted to probe charges of excesses by the police on students protesting in Delhi and assault on police personnel.

“A Bench presided over by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, and also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, held that the HPEC constituted is an extension of the court and will continue to function as constituted.”

The Bench said that the court would review the functioning of the HPEC and invited parties to raise any objections they might have regarding the functioning of the HPEC.

Supreme Court Says Committee Will Continue Without Reconstitution

Petitioners sought restructuring in the formation of the High-Powered Committee during the hearing, fearing a conflict of interest on the part of one of the committee members.

Senior Advocate Prashant Bhushan said that one of the committee members, who was formerly the DGP of a northeastern state, might be subjected to a conflict of interest owing to his connection with someone who would be investigated.

Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan also expressed his apprehensions and said that the committee should be accompanied by an independent amicus and Advocate-on-Record, instead of a government counsel.

But the Supreme Court did not accept this proposal.

SC Allows Public Participation in Committee Proceedings

The Supreme Court announced that it will ensure that the committee works in an open manner.

A notice will be issued publicly, and people interested in appearing before the committee would be permitted to express their views, documents, information, or evidence.

The committee would look at all such submissions, and the member secretary would keep custody of the documents.

It was also mentioned by the court that the document could be handled by a retired district judge or judicial magistrate.

Petitioners Raise Bias Concerns Over Committee Member

But petitioners did not refrain from questioning another committee member.

Justice Joymalya Bagchi clarified that the court would take their objections into account, but added that making an assumption of bias on behalf of a member appointed by the Supreme Court and headed by a former Chief Justice was not justified.

The bench pointed out that the committee had been constituted keeping in mind the expertise of its members.

High-Powered Committee Formed by Supreme Court

Previously, the Supreme Court formed a High Powered Inquiry Committee consisting of five members, with Justice R Subhash Reddy, former Chief Justice of India, as chairman. This committee consists of:

The Committee has been entrusted with the task of looking into charges concerning:

• Excessive use of force against the protesting students
• Use of pellets and other such measures by the police
• Attack on policemen and other forces
• The overall situation concerning the protests

Why Was the High-Powered Committee Formed?

The Supreme Court appointed this committee as there were several complaints of misconduct by police against students protesting in Delhi.

These protests were organized by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and involved a march towards Parliament House on July 20. This incident led to confrontations between the protesters and security forces.

As per the complaints, the police took several steps, such as lathi charge and use of teargas shells to disperse the protest.

These protests, which began at Jantar Mantar on June 20, spread to various cities, and were linked to the demand for resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

These protests came to an end on July 25 as Pradhan resigned, and all the demands of the CJP were accepted by the government.

Supreme Court’s View on Committee Role

At the time when it was formed, the Supreme Court noted that the members were chosen because of their expertise and diversity.

It was sure that the results of the work of the committee will help the court in addressing the problem of the protests and police activities.

No changes have been made in the structure of the committee.

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