The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the quashing of FIRs registered against students in connection with Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protests held between July 20 and 25 across states and Union Territories, while excluding cases involving persons with serious criminal antecedents.
Following the order and assurances given by the Centre, the CJP withdrew its call for a protest march in Delhi on September 5.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant passed the order after the Centre informed the Court that cases arising from the July protests would be withdrawn and that no fresh FIRs would be registered over the same protest-related events.
Exception For Persons With Criminal Antecedents
The relief will not extend to individuals with serious criminal antecedents. The Court permitted the Delhi Police to proceed with one FIR concerning 2,873 individuals who were present during the protests at Jantar Mantar and were stated to have serious criminal antecedents.
Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta informed the Court that the Centre through the Delhi Police, along with Bihar, Assam, West Bengal and Maharashtra, had moved applications seeking quashing of FIRs linked to the student protests.
Mehta said the applications also assured that no fresh FIRs would be registered in relation to protest-related events between July 20 and July 25. He told the Court that the applications had been filed to honour the assurance given by the Centre to CJP leaders on July 25.
During the hearing, the bench indicated that the issue could be resolved if both sides engaged with each other on the basis of mutual trust. Mehta responded that both sides had approached the matter constructively and positively and were not treating each other as enemies.
CJP Withdraws September 5 Protest Call
CJP spokesperson Saurav Das informed the Supreme Court that the organisation had decided to withdraw its call for the September 5 march following the Centre’s assurances and the Court’s order.
Das conveyed the CJP’s appreciation for the Centre’s positive assurances and the judicial backing given to them through the Court’s order. He also expressed gratitude to the Court and counsel appearing for both sides and said the organisation looked forward to compliance with the order.
The CJP had announced the September 5 protest alleging that the Centre had not fulfilled its commitments concerning the withdrawal of cases against students and compensation for families of NEET aspirants who died by suicide after the paper leak.
Centre Gets Three Months To Finalise Compensation Modalities
The hearing also dealt with compensation for the families of students who died by suicide following the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination.
The Solicitor General informed the Court that the Centre remained committed to its assurance of providing compensation to the affected families. He, however, sought three months to determine the modalities for implementing the commitment.
The Supreme Court granted the time sought and directed the Centre to complete the compensation modalities within three months.
