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Supreme Court ready to quash student protest FIRs
The Hindu··20 Aug
On 18 August 2026, the Supreme Court said it would use Article 142 to quash FIRs against students named in NEET-UG protest cases. Chief Justice Surya Kant, heading a three-judge Bench, asked for a list of FIRs in which only students were named. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta agreed student FIRs should be dropped. Cases with serious criminal antecedents would stay.
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What It Means For You
- If you were named only as a student in a NEET protest FIR, the court said on 18 August it is ready to quash those cases under Article 142.
- Anyone with a record of grave offences such as murder, rape or POCSO charges would not get that automatic drop, the Bench said.
- If you protested in Delhi, petitioners told the court that police have still not given even the FIR numbers they promised not to act on.
What's Happening
- Chief Justice Surya Kant sat with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana and asked states for FIRs in which only students were named.
- Mehta agreed student cases should be dropped and said persons with serious antecedents had also entered the protests.
- The court repeated that a high-powered committee would examine police excesses and violence during the July 20 march.
How The July Protest Record Reached This Bench
- Student-led protests began at Jantar Mantar on 20 June and were called off on 25 July after then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned.
- On 3 August the court clarified that criminal antecedents meant only grave and heinous offences, and said states could close other student FIRs in accordance with law.
- Petitioners also alleged facial recognition and other digital tracking, and said pellet guns and tear gas were used in the 20 July crackdown.
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