Two law students arrested for disrupting Supreme Court hearing

Two law students were arrested for allegedly disrupting Supreme Court proceedings, using abusive language, assaulting a security staff member and creating a commotion during a hearing. They were remanded to two days' police custody after medical examination and the recovery of objectionable pamphlets

New Delhi: Two law students were arrested for allegedly hurling abuses during the hearing of a petition in the Supreme Court, assaulting a security staff member and disrupting the proceedings, police said on Wednesday.

Prabal Pratap Singh (24), a third-year law student at Lucknow University from Uttar Pradesh’s Etawah, who was appearing as the petitioner-in-person, and Chander Bhan (23), a second-year law student from Raebareli district, were arrested in connection with the incident.

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According to police, the incident occurred during the hearing of Special Leave Petition (Civil), Prabal Pratap and Another vs State of Uttar Pradesh through Commissioner, inside Court No. 13 of the apex court on July 10.

Police said Prabal Pratap, appearing as the petitioner-in-person, disrupted the court proceedings by using abusive and unparliamentary language, throwing papers inside the courtroom and creating a commotion.

“When security personnel intervened to maintain decorum and restrain him, he used criminal force against the complainant, obstructing him from performing his official duties,” a senior police officer said.

Acting on the observations made by the Supreme Court regarding the conduct of the accused, both were taken to the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) for medical examination. Doctors found that neither required any immediate active psychiatric intervention, police said.

During the investigation, police recovered pamphlets containing objectionable words from the possession of the accused.

An FIR was registered at Tilak Marg police station under Sections 132, 221, 224 and 3(5) on the complaint of a member of the Supreme Court security staff.

Both men were arrested and subsequently remanded to two days’ police custody for further interrogation. The investigation is in progress, police added.