The Centre has approached the Supreme Court seeking the cancellation of 13 FIRs registered in Delhi against students who protested over the alleged NEET paper leak. The government has sought the court’s intervention under Article 142 of the Constitution to bring the cases to an end.
An application filed by the Delhi Police seeks the cancellation of 13 FIRs related to the NEET protests. The Centre has also sought permission to register a separate FIR to investigate the alleged role of around 2,873 people who were present at the protest site.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta orally mentioned the matter before the Supreme Court on Monday and requested an interim application to be heard on Tuesday. Chief Justice Surya Kant asked the Centre to file the application and indicated that the court would have no objection if the concerned parties were moving towards resolving the matter through mutual agreement.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant is scheduled to hear the matter on Tuesday.
The Centre has sought to invoke Article 142 of the Constitution to end the FIRs. The Supreme Court has the power under this provision to issue orders necessary to ensure complete justice.
During the previous hearing, the Supreme Court had also considered the possibility of ending the FIRs under Article 142. On August 18, the court indicated that it could use the constitutional provision to terminate the cases registered against the protesters.
During the hearing, the court was informed that withdrawing the FIRs directly at the police level would not be straightforward. Under the legal process, the police may have to submit a closure report before the concerned magistrate, who has the authority to accept or reject the report.
This legal procedure led to the need for Supreme Court intervention to directly end the cases. The top court will now decide whether the cases can be terminated under Article 142 on the basis of the Centre’s application.
According to CJP spokesperson Saurav Das, the government has begun the process of ending the cases related to Delhi. The organisation said the government has also assured that the students will not be targeted in the future or subjected to unnecessary harassment.
Das also said there is hope for positive progress on the issue of compensation for the families of students who lost their lives after the NEET controversy.
The organisation said it would continue to monitor the assurances given by the government and stand with students who faced action during the movement.
The student movement against alleged irregularities in NEET began at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on June 20. During the movement, protesters demonstrated against the government over various demands.
On July 20, protesters attempted to march from Jantar Mantar towards Parliament. Tension arose between security forces and protesters, following which police used lathi-charge and tear gas.
The movement ended on July 25. According to the organisation, the protest was withdrawn after the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and acceptance of other demands.
