On Monday, the Supreme Court resolved the ambiguity surrounding its July 28 order concerning the prosecution of students who took part in the 'Chalo Sansad' march.
The Supreme Court ruled that its July 28 order will not bar the NCT of Delhi or any other State from terminating or withdrawing cases based on FIRs filed against student protesters, wherever such action is legally permissible.
The clarification followed the Centre’s assertion that it was firmly committed to its promise of granting amnesty to students who took part in demonstrations over the NEET exam paper leak, including the Parliament march in Delhi on July 20 and later protests held in multiple States.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant further clarified the scope of its earlier order, which had barred the police from taking coercive measures against protesting students unless they had prior criminal records.
The Bench stated that this protection would not apply to individuals charged with serious offences, such as rape and other grave crimes.
The Bench further proposed that the FIRs filed in various States should first be located and categorized, after which the authorities could proceed by applying the relevant statutory procedures in each individual case.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi further observed that the court could facilitate the process once both parties reached a consensus on which cases might be taken up for closure or withdrawal.
He noted that the investigating agencies may submit closure reports under Section 193 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), while the respective public prosecutors may move for withdrawal from prosecution in line with the prescribed statutory procedure.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Union government and the Delhi Police, submitted that senior counsel appearing for the petitioners could engage with the “leaders” of the protests and the government to work out the “semantics” of implementing the assurance.
The Bench further emphasized that it would examine the formulation of a comprehensive and uniform protocol regulating the use of pellet guns for crowd control, including clearly defining the situations in which their deployment may be allowed.
