States can close or withdraw FIRs against students who participated in NEET protests: Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday clarified that the governments of Delhi and other states can close or withdraw FIRs against students who participated in protests against the NEET paper leak, provided they do not have antecedents involving grave and heinous offences.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana also made it clear that the expression "criminal antecedents" referred only to grave and heinous offences.

Also read: CJP protests over NEET paper leak: Supreme Court to hear on Monday pleas relating to police action


At the outset, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the top court that the Union government was serious in its commitment not to pursue FIRs against protesting students except those with criminal antecedents.

Mehta said that FIRs against over 2,700 people with antecedents involving grave and heinous offences would not be withdrawn.

During the hearing, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan submitted that even lawyers' children were beaten during the protests.

"The videos are very shocking. We have given 300 videos to the court. Since directions have come from the top, the commissioner of police must look at all this.

"Ideally, we have identified un-uniformed individuals committing such police excess. A direction has to go to the Commissioner of police and the RAF director as to why police used pellet guns etc," he said.

Also read: No action against peaceful NEET protesters, says Delhi minister

The matter is now listed for hearing on August 18.

The apex court had earlier said police excesses or a 'lathi charge' cannot be justified merely because there is an agitation and underlined that the right to peaceful protest was "absolutely guaranteed".

The CJP-led march on July 20 in Delhi saw clashes between protesters and security personnel, who used lathis and teargas shells to disperse crowds attempting to move towards Parliament.