CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Tuesday disposed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea seeking action against the Chennai City Police, who attacked the students of IIT-Madras, who were protesting over the beef issue.

Hearing the PIL plea filed by the IIT-M research scholar Ditty Mathew and other students, the first division bench comprising Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice PD Audikesavalu said that while students have a right to protest, such rights must be exercised mindfully.

"Six First Information Reports (FIRs) had been registered following an inquiry into the violence that followed the 'beef fest' and that the cases were now pending before the trial court. So we do not want to discuss the merits of the case or express our comments on it," the court observed.

During the course of the hearing, the counsel representing the IIT-M submitted that a committee by the management of the institution had already been constituted on the issue, and action had been taken against the students following an inquiry.

On their part, the Chennai City Police submitted that six FIRs were registered in connection with the incident and that the process of law had already been set in motion.

Ditty Mathew and a group of IIT-M students moved the Madras High Court in 2017 seeking for setting up a 'peacekeeping committee' at the IIT-Madras following incidents of violence that ensued after a 'beef fest' was organised on campus.