Current Affairs — Wednesday, 29 July 2026

Mains themes

• UPSC can use this litigation to examine how courts test police deployment of facial recognition technology: whether it is legally authorised (valid legal basis) and whether it is proportionate while policing protest activity that involves civil liberties.
• UPSC can frame this as a constitutional governance problem: how the State can control crowds to protect life and essential services while respecting the right to peaceful protest and ensuring credible, independent accountability when serious injuries occur.
• UPSC can frame this as a test of constitutional safeguards during public protest: how courts balance (a) ongoing FIR investigations with (b) protection against coercive action, especially for minors, and (c) requirements for independent, evidence-based inquiry into alleged police violence.