Quashing of FIRs Against NEET Protesters is a Victory for the Duty of Resistance

ON AUGUST 1, a Supreme Court (‘SC’) bench headed by Chief Justice of India (‘CJI’) Surya Kant in an unprecedented order quashed all First Information Reports (‘FIRs’) registered against students who participated in the Cockroach Janta Party-led protests across the country between July 20 and 25, 2026. It is worthwhile to flag that the BJP-led government at the centre and the governments of BJP ruled states in Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, and Maharashtra approached the Supreme Court for quashing of FIRs by invoking Article 142 of the Constitution which mandates the SC to pass any order to do ‘complete justice’.

It is instructive that the SC in this significant order categorically noted that the governments of the aforementioned BJP ruled states, as also BJP led Government at the Centre, approached the Court for quashing the FIRs “as a gesture of good will and to ensure that the subject FIRs do not cause any prejudice to the young students who participated in the peaceful protests, and also as an acknowledgement of the fact that mere participation in the protests is not taken as an offence under the penal laws…”

It also noted that the decision was taken to quash the FIRs not only because of the requests of Union Government and some of the State Governments but “…most importantly, keeping in view the future prospects of the young protesters, who bonafidely came to participate in a peaceful protest to raise their voice in favour of certain demands.”

It is thus crystal clear that SC categorically stated twice that protests launched by students on the issue of irregularities in the NEET-UG were peaceful and it also unequivocally stated the well settled constitutional stand point that “mere participation in the protests is not taken as an offence under the penal laws…”

The Court’s observations expose the caustic remarks made by several BJP leaders’ including those by former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who before his resignation had described the protestors as the “B-team of terrorists”.   

The protests launched at Jantar Mantar demanding accountability from the Modi government and Pradhan’s resignation eventually succeeded in forcing him to quit office. The Supreme Court’s quashing of FIRs, on the request of the Union and other BJP governments in the aforementioned states, again came in the wake of CJP’s notice of a fresh protest march on September 5, Teachers’ Day, from India Gate to the New Delhi Police Headquarters, accusing the Centre of failing to honour its commitments to quash the FIRs and compensate the families of 21 students who died by suicide following the NEET-UG paper leaks.

The unmistakable message signalled by the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan and quashing of FIRs is that the ruling regime has been eventually forced by public reasoning generated by the massive country wide protests against rapidly falling standards of education and the collapse of integrity of the examination system.

During protests launched by farmers against the three farm laws in 2021, the Prime Minister had ridiculed the protestors by calling them as “andolan jeevis”. “This community will be spotted at any agitation, be it an agitation by lawyers, students, or labourers – explicitly or implicitly, this community will reach there. They cannot live without andolan and constantly look for reasons to protest,” he had remarked.

But at last, due to the persistent protests of farmers, lasting for a year, he was compelled to tender an apology and repeal those laws. 

It is clear that the power of peaceful protest based on robust reasoning and mass mobilisation has humbled the present regime in India.

The compelling impact of such protest was manifested when Leader of Opposition, in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, who sat in dharna demanding registration of an FIR on the issue of firing of pellet guns against peaceful protestors demanding resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan.

The SC mentioned in its order that protests launched by students were peaceful and yet the protestors confronted pellet guns and neither the Union Home Minister nor Prime Minister made a statement on that matter in both the Houses of Parliament during the recently concluded monsoon session  of the apex legislature. The Dharna of the Leader of Opposition demanding an FIR on the issue of pellet gun injury is indicative of the sad state of our governance system.