New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Kapil Sibal on Monday said the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) will build a website to monitor legal action taken against protesters and to link them with lawyers, and announced a personal contribution of ₹1 crore to fund the effort. He appealed to lawyers nationwide to add to the fund so the platform can provide legal aid where peaceful demonstrators face alleged misuse of the law.
Platform To Track Cases
“This CJP will create a framework to track what happened at which place, which student or protester was affected, and what action has been taken against them,” Sibal said at a press conference, joined by CJP spokesperson Saurav Das, according to PTI.
He said the site will log incidents and the responses that followed, creating a record of legal steps taken against individuals involved in protests.
Connecting Students With Lawyers
Sibal said the website will also include a registry of lawyers ready to help students and protesters mount their legal defence. “They will create a website where lawyers willing to provide legal assistance can register their names, location and the kind of help they can offer,” Sibal said. He added that the registry would make it easier to identify counsel who can provide timely assistance.
Legal Fund For Defendants
“I will contribute Rs. 1 crore, and urge lawyers across India and others to also contribute to this fund so that wherever the law is misused and false cases are filed against peaceful protesters, we will stand with them. Our lawyers will support them across India,” Sibal said.
Accusations Of Student Detentions In UP
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged on Monday that Uttar Pradesh police had detained several students “under the guise of the Prayagraj protest,” sharing footage from a local TV channel. The Lok Sabha MP recalled the Centre’s earlier assurance that no student would face action, and asked “on whose orders” the detentions were carried out.
“When the central government had promised that no action would be taken against any student, then on whose orders is such deceit taking place? Does the Uttar Pradesh Police want to prove the Prime Minister’s assurances and promises to be mere rhetoric?” Yadav wrote on X, calling for the immediate release of the students and demanding that “senior officials involved in this illegal activity” be suspended and “the strictest possible action” taken against them.
He also urged the Supreme Court to take note of what he said was a threat to the students’ safety.
Congress Offers Legal Help
The Congress on Monday also condemned the alleged attacks on students and said it would provide legal assistance to anyone who had been issued notices, detained, summoned for questioning, or had social media posts removed. The party shared a contact number for legal support: “…Please contact our CKG Legal SOS at 9811867474,” it said in a post on X.
“The Modi government had promised during the negotiations that no student would be picked up and that there would be no police action against them. But today, there is a list of FIRs that have been filed against students in Patna, West Bengal, and Bihar,” the party said, urging students to know they have backing from its youth and student wings. “You are not alone, and you will not be left alone,” the Congress added, naming the Indian Youth Congress, National Students’ Union of India and Indian Nation Congress as supporters.