Supreme Court orders action on minor girl's harassment case linked to CJP protest

A three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant instructed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to ensure that the FIR filed by a 14-year-old girl, who says she was harassed and her home stone-pelleted after the July Cockroach Janta Party protests, is acted upon. The judges demanded status reports from the Delhi and Uttar Pradesh governments, emphasizing that no one should be allowed to intimidate a child or her family.

The girl's lawyer argued that instead of prosecuting those captured on video, an FIR was lodged against the child, and presented video evidence of the vandalism. The court also referenced earlier developments, noting that Delhi Police had added SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act provisions and criminal intimidation to an FIR against Hindutva influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj for allegedly assaulting the girl's father. Bhardwaj was later detained in Bulandshahr after a CJP-led protest outside Parliament Street police station called for his arrest. The bench warned that any anti-social elements roaming free and browbeating the child would constitute a serious matter.