SC Curbs Pellet Guns After Sansad Chalo Parliament Breach
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- India Today aired exclusive CCTV visuals from five locations showing thousands of July 20 Sansad Chalo protesters bypassing multiple barricades and reaching within 50 metres of the Parliament perimeter wall, with crowds advancing near Central Secretariat Metro station before security personnel dispersed them.
- The Supreme Court observed that security forces may use pellet guns only in exceptional circumstances, directing the Centre to preserve the Rapid Action Force ammunition log from Jantar Mantar and mandating the Delhi government to provide medical care to injured petitioners.
- Delhi Police maintained pellet guns were not used during the protest, but internal reports revealed RAF personnel fired plastic pellets, injuring individuals including 19-year-old Sahil Lochan and 25-year-old artist Prashant Kumar Singh.
- Former IB Special Director Yashvardhan Azad advocated a total ban on pellet guns on the show, citing their indiscriminate spray pattern.
- Former J&K DGP S.P. Vaid countered that pellet guns remain a necessary last resort compared to lethal force, framing the debate as one of calibrated crowd-control options.
Why it matters: The Supreme Court's pellet-gun ruling creates a binding legal ceiling on a weapon long criticized for blinding and maiming civilians, while the leaked internal RAF logs contradicting Delhi Police's public denial expose a credibility gap that could fuel litigation over the July 20 protest response.
