State governments and the Delhi administration may close or withdraw cases against students who participated in demonstrations against the NEET paper leak, provided the individuals do not have a history of serious crime, the Supreme Court clarified on Monday.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana specified that the term “criminal antecedents” applies strictly to grave and heinous offences. The clarification follows statements from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that the Union government is committed to dropping legal action against student demonstrators, while continuing proceedings against more than 2,700 individuals linked to grave criminal records.
Allegations Of Police Excesses
During the hearing, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan raised concerns over heavy-handed action by security forces during the protests, noting that children of lawyers were among those beaten. Sankaranarayanan informed the bench that 300 video recordings documenting excessive force had been submitted to the court. He requested directions to the Delhi Police Commissioner and the Rapid Action Force director to investigate un-uniformed individuals committing acts of violence and to explain the deployment of pellet guns against crowds.
Background And Constitutional Protections
The ongoing legal proceedings stem from a July 20 protest march organized by the CJP in Delhi. Clashes occurred after security personnel used batons and teargas shells to stop demonstrators attempting to march toward Parliament. Addressing the clashes in prior remarks, the apex court emphasized that the right to peaceful protest is an absolutely guaranteed right and stressed that police excesses or baton charges cannot be justified simply because a demonstration is taking place.
The Supreme Court will resume hearing the matter on August 18.
