The Supreme Court had earlier constituted a high-powered enquiry committee to probe issues and allegations, including those of police excesses against students. File.
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
The Supreme Court on Tuesday (September 1, 2026) directed all FIRs concerning NEET-UG protests registered between July 20 and July 25 be quashed under Article 142 of the Constitution.
As the Bench assembled to hear the Delhi Police’s application to invoke plenary powers under Article 142, Cockroach Janta Party’s Saurav Das informed the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant that the outfit has decided to call off its planned September 5 protest march. Mr Das said that the decision was taken after “assurances” from the Centre regarding withdrawal of FIRs and compensation to victims.
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The Bench then proceeded to hear Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who urged the Supreme Court to use its powers to close all FIRs against NEET protesters between July 20-July 25 across country.
He told the bench that the Centre is committed to honour the assurance given to the CJP leaders and provide compensation to the families of students who ended their lives after the cancellation of the NEET exam.
Mr. Mehta told the court that it will pay compensation to families of the students who died and sought three months to work out the modalities.
The Bench then directed the quashing of all relevant FIRs registered between July 20 and July 25 and said that “any other FIRs registered with regard to incidents which happened between July 20 and July 25 in any other States/Union Territories, including those not formally brought before the court, shall not be investigated and be closed for all intents and purposes.”
Noting that the Centre shall be at liberty to ask the States and UTs to not register any fresh FIR, the Bench allowed Delhi Police to file fresh FIR against 28,73 individuals without prejudice to the rights of these individuals.
Compensation for protestors injured in police action
The Supreme Court also asked the Centre formulate the modalities for compensation scheme for protestors who were injured in police action. The scheme, once finalised shall be adopted by the States and UTs as a regular mechanism in such situations.
NEET protests in Delhi: CJP calls off September 5 protest march after ‘assurances’ from Centre over withdrawal of FIRs
The Centre shall pay compensation to the families of students, who took their lives due to the NEET-UG paper leaks, within three months.
The Supreme Court had earlier constituted a high-powered enquiry committee headed by former Supreme Court Judge Justice R. Subhash Reddy to probe issues and allegations, including those of police excesses against students surrounding the nationwide protests against NEET-UG paper leaks.
(With inputs from PTI)
Published – September 01, 2026 12:30 pm IST
