Supreme Court-appointed panel opens portal for complaints on July violence at Jantar Mantar

A committee appointed by the Supreme Court to examine violence during protests in July has opened an online portal for complaints, according to reports published on October 17 and 18. The panel, called the High Powered Enquiry Committee (HPEC), is looking into events at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and at other places outside the capital.

What the portal does

The portal is at hpec.nic.in and was launched on Saturday, October 17, according to The Sentinel. The report says the Ministry of Home Affairs announced it. Affected people, including affected police personnel, can upload complaints and representations in the prescribed formats, and anyone with relevant information or suggestions on the referred issues can also submit them. The report says the portal is designed to protect vulnerable witnesses and can keep a submitter's identity confidential if they wish.

Greater Kashmir reports that the statement was issued through the Press Information Bureau. Submissions can also be made in person at the committee's office at Shiksha Sadan, 17, Rouse Avenue Institutional Area, New Delhi, between 2 pm and 4 pm on working days, and by post and email, according to both reports. None of the three reports read states a deadline for submissions.

What the committee is examining

The committee's mandate comes from paragraphs 12 and 13 of the Supreme Court's August 18, 2026 order and paragraph 5(i) of its September 10, 2026 order, according to The Sentinel and Greater Kashmir. Both say the committee is to give priority to three areas: the use of pellet guns, targeted violence and harassment of female protesters, and allegations of excessive violence and property destruction by either side.

The Free Press Journal, in an IANS report, describes the HPEC as a five-member body headed by former Justice R. Subhash Reddy, set up by a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant. It describes the violence as having occurred during July 2026 student protests over alleged exam irregularities, and says the mandate covers alleged excessive force by police, including pellet guns, electric batons, lathi charges and tear gas, and harm to protesters. It also refers to a July 28, 2026 order requiring police and other agencies to preserve CCTV, drone and body-worn camera footage, wireless logs and police control room call logs and to hand them to the committee.

The Free Press Journal reports that the Chief Justice said the Supreme Court itself, not the committee, will decide the larger constitutional questions on facial recognition, surveillance and privacy.

What the reports do not say

The reports read do not give findings, a timeline for the committee's report or numbers of complaints received. The Sentinel and Greater Kashmir do not name the committee's head; the Free Press Journal does. The reports describe the allegations as matters under examination, not as established.