SC quashes FIRs against all NEET protesters, but 'hardened criminals' to face trial; CJP reacts

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Tuesday invoked its special powers and quashed all FIRs registered against student protesters in different parts of the country during the NEET paper leak protests.The bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana said the order had been passed in view of the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case and shall not be treated as a precedent.The apex court said it was invoking its special powers under Article 142 of the Constitution considering the future of the students who bona fide participated in the protests.The court, however, allowed Delhi Police to pursue the FIR against 2,873 individuals who were present at the Jantar Mantar protests, citing their serious criminal antecedents.This comes a day after the Centre moved the apex court seeking to quash FIRs registered against student protesters over alleged violence during protests against the NEET paper leak in Delhi and other states.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and Delhi Police, also informed the apex court that the Centre remained committed to fulfilling all three assurances given to CJP leaders during their meeting with the government.Under the first assurance, the Centre would not pursue FIRs registered between July 20 and July 25. The second was that no fresh FIRs would be registered in connection with the matter.The third assurance was that the government would provide compensation to the families of students who died by suicide allegedly in connection with the NEET paper leak."The Centre is committed to honouring the assurance given to CJP leaders to provide compensation to the families of students who died by suicide after the NEET exam cancellation; however, three months are needed to work out the modalities," Mehta told the Supreme Court."As of now, we are committed to fulfilling all three assurances," he added.Following the apex court hearing, Cockroach Janata Party called off its September 5 protest against the Centre for failing to honour the promises made to persuade the group to withdraw the agitation."I want to state that in view of the positive assurances of the Government of India and the judicial sanctity bestowed upon them today, and in view of the order being passed by this court, the CJP deems it appropriate to withdraw the call for the march on September 5 and looks forward to compliance with today's order," CJP co-convener Sourav Das said during a hearing in the Supreme Court.How CJP reactedAfter the hearing, Das said welcomed SC's order but also questioned why were these 'hardend criminals' allowed to roam freely in the society in the first place."Regarding the Delhi Police’s apprehension, based on facial recognition technology, that around 2,800 alleged hardened criminals were present at the protest site, we argued during negotiations with the government that if these 2,800 hardened criminals were indeed present, the first question was why they were roaming freely in society in the first place," Das said while talking to reporters."Secondly, if they committed any heinous crimes, such as rape, murder, or other grave offences, at the protest site, then they should be prosecuted, investigated, and imprisoned," he added.During a hearing on August 18 on petitions related to the student protests, Supreme Court had indicated that it was inclined to quash the FIRs by exercising its special powers under Article 142 of the Constitution.The indication came after the court was informed of legal complications in withdrawing the FIRs. Once registered, the cases can be closed only through a closure report, which the concerned Magistrate has the discretion to reject.Earlier, Supreme Court had also constituted a committee to examine allegations of excessive use of force by security personnel against students during the July 20 march over the NEET paper leak.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.