india ⚖️ Petitioner challenges Jantar Mantar probe panel composition
A petitioner has approached the Supreme Court demanding the reconstitution of the five-member High-Powered Enquiry Committee (HPEC). The challenge questions the panel's composition, citing alleged links of non-judicial members to the Union Government, including the Home Minister. The committee was formed on August 18 to probe police excesses during the Jantar Mantar protests which saw around 30,000 people gather on July 20. The petitioner seeks a fresh panel with demonstrable independence and a retired Chief Justice of India as its head. The Supreme Court agreed to list the application after the Solicitor General opposed it as a 'mischievous application.'