SC quashes student protest FIRs across India, CJP calls off Sept 5 march
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed FIRs registered against student protesters in Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Assam in connection with demonstrations held between July 20 and 25, and directed that similar cases registered across the country should not be pursued or investigated.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana invoked the court’s extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to bring an end to the criminal proceedings, citing the future prospects of the 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 the FIRs had been filed by the Centre through Delhi Police, as well as by the governments of Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Assam, the benefit of the order would extend across India.
It directed that FIRs relating to the July 20-25 student protests registered in any state or Union Territory (UT) other than those specifically covered by the applications would also not be pursued or investigated and would be treated as closed.
The apex court further ordered that no fresh FIR should be registered by any state or UT in connection with incidents arising from the protests during the period.
However, the court granted Delhi Police liberty to register a single FIR against 2,873 people who were present at the Jantar Mantar protests and were stated to have serious criminal antecedents.
The court said any such FIR would be strictly limited to allegations involving 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 Bench said.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that the applications had been filed following assurances given by the Central government to the leadership of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on July 25 that cases registered against protesters would be withdrawn and that no further FIRs would be registered in connection with the demonstrations.
Mehta also said the government remained committed to its assurance on compensation for 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 concerned state governments.
“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,” the court directed.
The Supreme Court also stressed that its decision to invoke Article 142 was based on 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 his submissions, CJP co-convener Saurav Das, who was present in the Supreme Court, said the party had decided to withdraw its proposed September 5 protest march in view of the Union government’s assurances and the order passed by the apex court.
The development came a day after the Centre moved the Supreme Court seeking the quashing of FIRs registered against student protesters who had participated in demonstrations at Jantar Mantar and elsewhere across the country. The Centre urged 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, asking the Supreme Court to exercise its Article 142 powers to bring an end to criminal proceedings arising from 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 observed that maintaining law and order was ultimately the responsibility of the police authorities.
With IANS inputs