Brinda Karat, a senior CPI(M) figure and former Rajya Sabha member, put forward allegations on Monday that Delhi Police officers subjected women taking part in the ongoing protests — centred on calls for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's removal — to harassment and humiliation.
Karat called on the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognizance of the matter, citing allegations that women protesters were subjected to sexual intimidation, physical assault, and humiliation by police personnel during their detention, adding that such conduct had not been witnessed previously. Allegations that officers in uniform engaged in sexual harassment have been attributed, without verified evidence, to policies under the current central government.
Karat, speaking in New Delhi, alleged that officers had groped and pinched the intimate body parts of women in their custody. Flanked by a group of individuals who described experiencing excessive force at the hands of police, Karat told reporters that their testimonies pointed to broader questions about how authorities had managed public demonstrations and whether citizens' basic rights had been adequately upheld, adding that the situation represented a departure from anything previously seen and that the ability to protest without interference stood as a cornerstone of democratic life.
Citing court observations on protest rights, Karat contended that the treatment of the demonstrators constituted an infringement of their democratic entitlements and urged the Supreme Court to step in, adding that physical force used inside police vans bore a resemblance to custodial violence. Protocols exist, yet documented breaches of those rules have been recorded. She argued that responsibility for defending the protesters' fundamental rights under a democratic system rested with the Supreme Court.
A number of members affiliated with the Student Federation of India described what they said happened to them when police moved against demonstrators at Connaught Place on Sunday. Nadiya, who holds the position of Delhi president within the SFI, told a prominent news channel that she had been taking part in the demonstration at Connaught Place on Sunday when a group of police personnel allegedly moved in and began assaulting her. She stated that the attack left her with grave physical harm. She described witnessing a number of female demonstrators subjected to acts of sexual intimidation.
Sharanya, identified as a member of the SFI Delhi state committee, told reporters that officers on the scene subjected those taking part in the demonstration to both physical force and acts of degradation, adding in her own words that the treatment of protesters involved deliberate humiliation. She alleged that an officer reached back and took hold of her shirt from behind, and further claimed that the individuals involved directed physical contact toward her genital area.
Sharanya went on to allege that those taking part in the protests were loaded into police vehicles against their will and held in overcrowded compartments. Her account described how her leg became caught between the van door and its frame as officers guided her into the vehicle, an incident she said left her with a broken bone. Her account further included a claim that officers at the scene turned away protesters who attempted to capture footage on their phones, taking the devices away and leaving those present without any means of recording what was unfolding inside the vehicles.
The organisation stated that its women members had staged a Tiranga march at Connaught Place on Sunday, calling attention to what they characterised as police brutality and physical assaults by people they identified as right-wing supporters targeting women protesters and journalists. A number of protesters were taken into custody at the demonstration, the organisation noted, even though laws were in place to protect women from arbitrary arrest and detention.
In its petition, the SFI drew on Section 43(5) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), a provision that bars the detention of women once the sun has set, barring defined exceptions and a prior grant of judicial authorisation. Section 46(1) of the BNSS — a provision setting out how arrests are to be conducted — was also cited by the organisation, which contended that the conduct of police during the operation fell short of those legal requirements.
Adarsh M Saji, who holds the national presidency of SFI, contended that female activists were subjected to rough handling by male officers at the point of their detention. Saji went on to allege that the detention vehicle was unlit and that no female police officers had been present inside it. Saji, who said he too sustained injuries during what he described as a police baton assault, alleged that student activists were subjected to physical abuse inside police vehicles before being taken to a location far from the detention point, adding that the beatings continued throughout the journey in the van, according to his account.
