New Delhi, October 15: The Supreme Court on Thursday sought responses from the Centre and other concerned parties on a plea seeking guidelines to regulate interactions between police and law-enforcement agencies and journalists during protests and crowd-control operations.

The plea alleged that several journalists, including women media professionals, were assaulted and mistreated by police while covering protests in Delhi against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi indicated its willingness to frame guidelines in the matter.

“We would like to lay down guidelines,” the bench observed after senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the petitioner, stressed the need for a national protocol governing police interaction with the media during such situations.

The matter concerns the need for clear safeguards to ensure the safety of journalists reporting from protests and crowd-control situations.