NEW DELHI: Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on Monday told the Delhi high court that the videography of the ongoing protest at Jantar Mantar over alleged examination irregularities is carried out solely for maintaining law and order and not for “snooping” or surveillance.Appearing before a bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia, Mehta said protests at Jantar Mantar are routinely video-recorded as part of standard security arrangements, news agency PTI reported.“At Jantar Mantar, some or the other protest is going on, (and) it is always recorded…. This is only for law and order and safety. There is no snooping. There is no surveillance,” Mehta submitted.“As a matter of fact, in this protest, daily hundreds of people are seen making video films and making reels and making them viral,” he added.As per the PTI report, the bench was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Aishe Ghosh against the Centre and the Delhi Police, alleging “continuous, indiscriminate and intrusive surveillance” of protesters at Jantar Mantar.The court posted the matter for hearing on Tuesday and asked Mehta to inform it whether the Delhi Police had formulated guidelines to regulate protests, as mandated by a Supreme Court judgment.Senior advocate Nandita Rao, appearing for the petitioner, argued that the authorities were carrying out “intrusive” surveillance of student protesters at Jantar Mantar, which she contended was unsustainable in law. Rao submitted that an individual’s right to privacy is not surrendered merely because they are present in a public space.Responding to the submissions, Mehta described the PIL as “luxury litigation”.The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has been protesting at Jantar Mantar since June 20, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in examinations, including the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). Social activist Sonam Wangchuk joined the agitation on June 28 and has been on an indefinite hunger strike since then.Filed through advocate Subhash Chandran K R, the PIL has sought a declaration that “continuous and intrusive mass surveillance” of peaceful protesters is constitutionally impermissible, disproportionate and cannot be justified under the guise of maintaining public order or national security.The petition has also sought directions to the authorities to immediately suspend mass photography, videography and surveillance at Jantar Mantar unless there is a “proximate, real and imminent threat to public order” warranting such measures.“The petitioner has in her possession photographs depicting the permanent surveillance tower and the continuous photography and videography undertaken by police personnel, which demonstrate the pervasive and intrusive nature of the surveillance being carried out by the respondents,” the plea stated.“The surveillance is indiscriminate in nature, extending to every individual present at the protest site irrespective of any suspicion of unlawful conduct and encompassing not merely the public acts of protest but also the ordinary incidents of daily life, including eating, resting, seeking medical assistance and other personal activities,” the petition added.(With agency inputs)
