Lawyers Recite Preamble at Supreme Court as “Save Democracy, Save Constitution” Protest Backs Students at Jantar Mantar
Sunil Negi,
New Delhi: Amid the intensifying student agitation at Jantar Mantar, a group of Supreme Court lawyers gathered on the apex court lawns on Wednesday and recited the Preamble to the Constitution under the banner “Save Democracy, Save Constitution”, in solidarity with protesters demanding accountability for the NEET paper leak and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Senior Advocate Indira Jaisingh led the recitation, reading out the Preamble along with dozens of Supreme Court advocates who assembled during the lunch break. Holding placards and the tricolour, the lawyers said the act was meant to remind the government and the public of constitutional values at a time when students were facing lathicharge and detentions on the streets of Delhi.
“Justice, liberty, equality and fraternity are not just words on paper. Today they are being tested on Jantar Mantar,” Jaisingh said after the recitation. “When young people come out peacefully to ask questions and are met with force, it becomes the duty of every officer of the court to stand for the Constitution.”
The symbolic protest by lawyers came on the same day that the student stir saw fresh tension. On Wednesday evening, videos from Jantar Mantar showed a group of protesters chasing a police constable near the barricades after an argument. Police said five personnel, including two RAF jawans attacked at Tolstoy Marg on Tuesday night, have been injured in clashes over the last 48 hours. Organisers said the number of students at the site swelled through the day, with aspirants from Delhi, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan joining in.
The protest was triggered by alleged irregularities in NEET-UG 2026 and the deaths by suicide of over 20 aspirants in recent weeks. Demonstrators are demanding a judicial probe, Rs 1 crore compensation for bereaved families, and Pradhan’s resignation.
The issue also dominated Parliament and the courts. INDIA bloc MPs led by Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav staged a protest inside Parliament premises, while in the Delhi High Court Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan flagged a viral video purportedly showing ADCP Sandeep Lamba slapping a woman protester during Monday’s “Sansad Chalo” march. Following the outrage, Delhi Police removed Lamba from protest duty and reverted him to his parent cadre pending inquiry.
On the government side, Union Ministers J.P. Nadda and Dr. Jitendra Singh said the Centre has “no prestige issue” and is ready to meet students either in their offices or residences. The outreach came hours after Sonam Wangchuk, the Magsaysay awardee and climate activist, released a video from Medanta Hospital in Gurugram on the 25th day of his hunger strike. Wangchuk said he would break his fast immediately if the government gives a firm assurance that peaceful protesters will not face harassment and that all cases against them are withdrawn. He added that 65 MPs had written to him urging him to end the fast.
RML Hospital on Wednesday issued a bulletin on the 21-year-old woman who was critically injured on Monday after colliding with a barricade during the police crackdown. Doctors said she has been taken off the ventilator, is breathing on her own, conscious and responding to commands. She remains the only protester admitted at RML.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also hit out at sections of the media over the coverage. Speaking to reporters, she asked why journalists were not questioning the Education Minister on resignation and on the lathicharge, and accused them of asking “irrelevant questions” to opposition leaders instead.
With the Preamble recitation at the Supreme Court, the Opposition protests in Parliament, a hunger strike in Gurugram, and thousands still camped at Jantar Mantar, the student movement has now drawn in the bar, the bench and the street. Lawyers said they would continue to monitor the police action and the government’s response in the coming days.
