Volunteer lawyers formed a network to assist detained protesters.
They share safety guidelines and quick emergency alerts online.
Despite Supreme Court orders, police detentions have continued.
A group of lawyers is working voluntarily to track detainees and help them with the paperwork for those being detained by the police amid the protests for the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, and against the controversial Special Intensive Revision.
Hindustan Times reported that Shobhit Chaudhary, a lawyer by profession and part of the legal volunteer network that has been helping people who were detained for protesting against Gyanesh Kumar.
Chaudhary said, “We basically worked on creating a rapid response system for the fraternity,” said Chaudhary, a Delhi-based independent litigator. “It is working, but in all honesty there should not be a need for this to be working.”
Chaudhary said he started trying to help the detainees on his own back in July, when people took to the streets demanding that then-Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resign, HT reported.
Soon, other independent lawyers got in touch, and they built a group together. Today, it includes over 70 to 80 lawyers across Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, and the Delhi NCR region.
Because each lawyer brings in their own network of friends and colleagues, the group can instantly forward distress calls to whoever is closest to the scene. "It works like a quick message system so we can figure out which lawyers are nearby," Chaudhary explained to HT.
What Are The Guidelines?
The group shares phone numbers on WhatsApp and Instagram along with two short guides. The first tells people what to do if they get detained. The second message explains what to do if they watch someone else get picked up: record the bus and write down its license plate.
Detainees are also advised to share their live location, name, and how many people are in the vehicle with their protest group chats.
For lawyers, there is a set of “protocols” to be followed so that they can help detainees. Lawyers present when a detainee is released are instructed to make sure an official medical report is completed.
If there are any complaints or signs of mistreatment, the lawyer must hand a written complaint directly to the station house officer (SHO) and get a signed receipt.
If the officer refuses to accept it, the lawyer takes a photo of the document on the desk and emails it to the station, copying Delhi Police headquarters. "This ensures there is an official paper trail of everything that happens," Chaudhary told HT.
On Sunday, the Supreme Court held a special session and ruled that peaceful, unarmed protesters should not be detained unless proper legal steps are followed. It also ordered the restoration of train, metro, and internet services. Despite the court's ruling, detentions continued anyway.
