SC quashes student protest FIRs nationwide, CJP calls off September 5 march

The Supreme Court on Tuesday brought relief to students facing criminal cases over protests held between July 20 and 25, quashing FIRs registered in Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Assam and directing that similar cases filed elsewhere in the country will not be pursued or investigated.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana invoked the court's extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, saying the decision was aimed at protecting the future prospects of young people who had taken part 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 Bench said.

Although the applications before the court had been filed by the Centre through the Delhi Police and by the governments of Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Assam, the court made clear that the benefit of its order would extend across the country.

The Bench directed that FIRs linked to the July 20-25 student protests registered in any other state or Union Territory would also not be pursued or investigated and would be treated as closed. It further ordered that no fresh FIR should be registered in connection with incidents arising from protests held during that period.

The court, however, made a limited exception for Delhi Police. It permitted the registration of a single FIR against 2,873 people who were present at the Jantar Mantar protests and were alleged to have serious criminal antecedents. Any such case, the court said, must be restricted to allegations involving bodily harm or destruction of property.

The order also allows those affected by such proceedings to pursue remedies available to them under law.

During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that the Centre had moved the applications in line with assurances given by the government to the leadership of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on July 25. According to the Solicitor General, the government had assured that cases registered against protesters would be withdrawn and that no fresh FIRs would be filed in connection with the demonstrations.

The Centre also reiterated its commitment to compensation for families of students who died by suicide in connection with academic issues, including the NEET-UG 2026 examination.

Taking note of the submission, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to frame a pan-India policy for such compensation within three months in consultation with the concerned state governments. The policy is to be circulated to states and implementing authorities so that it can become a regular mechanism for processing compensation claims.

At the same time, the Bench clarified that its decision to invoke Article 142 was based on the particular circumstances of the case and should not be treated as a binding precedent for future matters.

The court also said that its extraordinary intervention was subject to both sides honouring the understanding placed before it.

The Supreme Court's order prompted the CJP to withdraw its proposed September 5 protest march. CJP co-convener Saurav Das, who was present in court, said the party had decided to call off the march in view of the Centre's assurances and the directions issued by the apex court.

The proposed march had been planned from India Gate to the New Delhi Police Headquarters. The CJP had announced it on August 24, alleging that the Centre had failed to fulfil commitments made to young protesters on July 25 after nationwide student demonstrations were withdrawn.

The party had said the march would include families of students who died in connection with the NEET issue and alleged victims of police brutality, along with students and young citizens from different parts of the country.

The Supreme Court's latest order came a day after the Centre approached the apex court seeking the quashing of FIRs arising from the nationwide student protests. The government had urged the court to use its powers under Article 142 to bring the criminal proceedings to an end.

On Monday, Solicitor General Mehta had sought an urgent hearing before the CJI-led Bench, citing the proposed September 5 march.

The court had separately declined to pass an interim order against the march on Monday, observing that there were no compelling circumstances at that stage to presume that the demonstration would create a law-and-order problem.

While issuing notice on a plea challenging the proposed march, the Bench declined to advance the matter before September 5 and said all concerned would be presumed to act responsibly and participate in a peaceful and lawful manner. It also observed that maintaining law and order remained the responsibility of the police authorities.

With Tuesday's order quashing the protest-related FIRs and the CJP withdrawing its planned march, the immediate legal and political standoff surrounding the July student demonstrations has eased, while the Centre now has three months to formulate the nationwide compensation policy sought by the court.