The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to intervene in a plea claiming that lack of clarity in guidelines on public movement has led to police roughing up citizens during the lockdown.
A Bench led by Justice N.V. Ramana orally observed that the High Courts and the Human Rights Commissions had already taken cognisance of complaints about the police conduct.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said there was proper dissemination of guidelines to the local authorities.
The court pointed out that the police were working hard to implement the lockdown. It said the lockdown, to prevent the spread of the virus, would not succeed without public cooperation.
The Bench urged citizens to stay indoors and follow the norms of social distancing.
Refusing to pass any general orders, the Bench however said any specific instances of police brutality should be brought to the attention of the appropriate court.
The court was hearing separate petitions filed by advocate Amit Goyal from Guwahati and Vishal Tiwari, a lawyer practising in the Supreme Court.
Mr. Goyal contended that vague guidelines on public movement had led to “chaos and uncertainty” in certain areas. Mr. Tiwari even suggested criminal action against police officers who resort to violence against the public.