NEW DELHI — The nation's highest judicial body reminded citizens on Monday that its constitutional mandate to protect fundamental rights does not mean it actually wants to look at them. While dismissing an urgent listing of a plea regarding police action against students protesting widespread exam paper leaks, the bench issued a firm directive to the beaten citizens: "Don't waste our time."

"We are not interested in videos," a court official clarified, explaining that viewing visual evidence of the Delhi Police striking students would unnecessarily complicate the government's ability to manage the narrative. "The mandate of this institution is to remain above the fray. Scrutinizing the National Testing Agency's credibility or holding the Education Ministry accountable for systemic failures would require us to intervene in executive matters, which is highly inconvenient."

The refusal to hear the urgent listing follows established institutional precedent for handling politically uncomfortable realities. In 2023, the court refused urgent hearings on the Manipur violence by categorizing it as a state "law and order" subject, and in 2024, it delayed electoral bond transparency over "technicalities" until after voting had safely concluded.

"Our docket is very carefully managed to avoid immediate impacts," a registry official said, stamping a fresh batch of delayed petitions. "If we start urgently reviewing every instance of unconstitutional police excess, we might accidentally disrupt the government's suppression of dissent. We simply do not have the hours in the day."