SC quashes all FIRs across against NEET paper leak protesters

The Supreme Court on Tuesday invoked its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to cancel all FIRs listed before it against youth protesters over incidents between July 20 and 25 during the Cockroach Janta Party-led paper leak protests across the country, which demanded then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. The court said any other FIRs related to the same incidents in any state or Union Territory should not be pursued or investigated and would be treated as closed for all purposes.
A bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said the decision would ensure that the criminal cases did not cause “any harm to students or youths who participated in these protests” and that mere participation in a protest would not be treated as an offence under penal laws.The court ordered that all FIRs relating to the protests between July 20 and 25 in the states and Union territories, including those not formally brought before it, would not be pursued or investigated and would be treated as closed for all purposes. It also directed that similar FIRs pending in other states and Union territories be treated in the same manner. “No further FIR shall be registered in relation to the same incident,” the court directed.
The court, however, said the Centre and Delhi Police would remain at liberty to register fresh FIRs against 2,873 persons, as described in their application, without prejudice to the affected parties' right to seek legal remedy. The government, earlier, placed before the court a specific application by the Delhi Police seeking permission to register a fresh FIR against 2,873 people who were alleged to have serious criminal records, but only if an investigation established their involvement in offences involving bodily harm or destruction of property during the protests.