The Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed FIRs registered against student protesters in Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Assam in connection with protests held between July 20 and 25, and directed that similar cases registered across the country will not be pursued or investigated.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana invoked its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to bring an end to the criminal proceedings, saying it was doing so keeping in view the future prospects of young protesters who had participated in the demonstrations.
"Keeping in view the future prospects of the young protesters who came to participate in a peaceful protest to raise their voice in support of certain demands, we deem it appropriate to invoke our powers under Article 142 of the Constitution in order to do complete justice between the parties," the Supreme Court said.
The CJI-led Bench clarified that although applications seeking quashing of FIRs had been filed by the Centre, through Delhi Police, and the governments of Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Assam, the benefit of the order would extend pan-India.
It directed that FIRs relating to the student protests between July 20 and 25 registered in any state or Union Territory (UT) other than those specifically covered by the applications will also not be pursued or investigated and will be treated as closed.
The apex court further directed that no fresh FIR will be registered by any state or UT in relation to incidents arising out of the protests held during the said period.
However, the Supreme Court granted liberty to Delhi Police to register a single FIR against 2,873 persons who were present at the Jantar Mantar protests and were stated to have serious criminal antecedents.
It said such an FIR would be strictly confined to allegations relating to bodily harm and destruction of property.
"Such an FIR can be registered without prejudice to the rights of the affected parties to seek remedies available to them in law, and strictly confined to the two categories of allegations referred to in paragraph 4, namely, bodily harm and destruction of property," the CJI-led Bench said.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that the applications had been filed pursuant to assurances given by the Central government to the leadership of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on July 25 that cases registered against the protesters would be withdrawn and no future FIR would be registered in connection with the protests.
He also submitted that the government remained committed to its assurance regarding compensation to the families of students who died by suicide in connection with academic issues, including the NEET-UG 2026 examination.
The Supreme Court directed the Centre to formulate a pan-India policy for payment of such compensation within three months, in consultation with the state governments concerned.
"The Union of India shall formulate a policy with respect to payment of compensation on a pan-India basis. Such policy shall be circulated to all the state governments concerned and implementing authorities, so that it can be adopted as a regular mechanism for payment of compensation," it directed.
The Supreme Court also stressed that its decision to invoke Article 142 was being taken in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case and should not be treated as a binding precedent.
"We make it clear that the invocation of the extraordinary powers of this Court under Article 142 of the Constitution is subject to the condition that both sides shall abide by the understanding arrived at before this Court," the bench said.
Soon after the Solicitor General made the submissions, CJP co-convener Saurav Das, who was present in the apex court, said that the party had decided to withdraw its proposed September 5 protest march in view of the Union government's assurances and the order being passed by the Supreme Court.
The development came a day after the Centre moved the Supreme Court seeking quashing of FIRs registered against student protesters who participated in demonstrations at Jantar Mantar and other parts of the country, urging the apex court to invoke its extraordinary powers under Article 142 to ensure "complete justice".
Solicitor General Mehta had on Monday mentioned the matter before the CJI-led Bench and sought an urgent hearing on the Centre's application, seeking that the Supreme Court exercise its powers under Article 142 to bring an end to criminal proceedings arising out of the nationwide student protests.
The move came against the backdrop of the CJP's proposed September 5 protest march from India Gate to the New Delhi Police Headquarters.
The CJP had announced the march on August 24, alleging that the Centre had failed to honour commitments made to young people on July 25 following the withdrawal of nationwide youth protests. The party had said the proposed march would be led by families of deceased NEET victims and victims of alleged police brutality, besides being joined by students and young citizens from across the country.
Earlier on Monday, the Supreme Court had separately declined to pass any interim order against the proposed September 5 protest march, observing that there were no compelling circumstances at that stage to presume that the demonstration would result in a law and order problem.
The CJI-led Bench had issued notice on an application challenging the proposed march but declined to hear it before September 5, while observing that everyone would be presumed to act responsibly and participate in a peaceful and lawful manner. The Supreme Court had also remarked that maintenance of law and order was ultimately the responsibility of the police authorities.
--IANS