Overview
- The Supreme Court, which heard petitions on Monday, said it may set up a high-powered committee or SIT led by a former top-court judge to probe police conduct and violence during the July 20 march at Jantar Mantar.
- The Centre told the court it is serious about not pursuing FIRs against ordinary student protesters, and the court narrowed the meaning of ‘criminal antecedents’ to only grave and heinous offences.
- A Surat RTI activist has asked the Election Commission and GST authorities to examine CJP fundraising and the finances of founder Abhijeet Dipke’s family, prompting legal and tax questions about Kapil Sibal’s Rs 1 crore pledge for a defence fund.
- Dipke has publicly denied impropriety, said his Boston studies were paid by a scholarship and an education loan, offered to show documents, and announced the CJP will hold a core committee meeting on August 5 to set strategy and expand operations.
- The movement continues to spread to state-level exam protests such as in Jharkhand, families the CJP says have not received promised Rs 1 crore compensation remain unpaid, and the court-led probe plus pending FIR decisions will shape whether protests resume and how police are held to account.