The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Centre to preserve the ammunition log of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) deployed at Jantar Mantar during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest even as it questioned a plea by IPS officer Yashovardhan Azad and two victims seeking a complete ban on the use of metallic pellet guns for crowd control.The order came from a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant after the petitioners’ counsel, Vrinda Grover, submitted that the top court’s July 28 interim order for the preservation of CCTV, drone/body camera footage and wireless logs did not specifically refer to ammunition logs.“Whatever is required for investigation will be preserved,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta assured the Bench, which also included Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana.The top court also directed the Delhi Government to ensure medical treatment was provided to the protesters who suffered pellet gun injuries.Referring to an advisory of the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), the Bench said the police were empowered to use pellet guns in exceptional situations.A bona fide protest may turn violent at any point, perhaps due to infiltration of anti-social elements, and “graded response” of law enforcement agencies might be sometimes necessary, Justice Bagchi said.The Bench said the petitioners’ prayer for a total ban on the use of pellet guns by law enforcement agencies for civilian crowd control and dispersal was “vague” in the absence of any challenge to police regulations permitting the use of such weapons.The Bench deferred the hearing to enable the petitioners to amend the petition to challenge the rules, which permitted the use of pellet guns. “Police rules allow the use in exceptional circumstances unless you challenge the rules itself. One of the steps of graded approach is use of pellet guns,” Justice Bagchi said, adding that without challenging the validity of those regulations, the relief seeking a complete ban on the use of pellet guns might be barred.“In light of alleged excessive use, your prayer should be that the court lays down a protocol regarding the use,” the CJI told Vrinda Grover.Justice Bagchi, however, clarified that it was not averse to examining the use of pellet guns in a particular situation. Petitioners Prasant Kumar Singh and Sheikh Irshad Mansoori claimed they were victims of pellets fired by the RAF during the CJP’s “Sansad Chalo” protest on July 20 over NEET paper leaks. They were treated at Lady Hardinge Medical College in the national capital where pellets lodged in their bodies were removed after surgical intervention, they claimed.Grover submitted that metallic pellets were used against the petitioners, and the same were recovered from their bodies. “I am not saying pellet guns should not be in the armoury of the RAF. Here it is different. They have used metallic pellets (as against rubber or plastic bullets)” Grover submitted.Pointing out that such regulations were not easily available in the public domain, she urged the Bench to direct the Centre to place them on record to enable the petitioners to amend their prayers in the petition.“We are agreeable to non-violent approach when the protests are by students etc… that personal hijacking of protest cannot be allowed which sabotages the bona fides of the protest for their ulterior motives. Arm your police in such a way that they don’t have to resort to such actions,” Justice Bagchi told Mehta, who agreed with the observation.