More Stories

Informist, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026

 

Please click here to read all liners published on this story

--Centre to SC: Agreeing for withdrawing FIRs vs NEET paper leak protestors 
--Cockroach Janta Party to SC: To withdraw Sat march after govt assurance 
--Govt to SC: To take 3 mos to pay money to kin of students died by suicide 
--SC quashes all FIRs in states against NEET paper leak protestors 
--SC: No state shall register fresh FIRs against NEET paper leak protestors 
--SC: Govt compensation to NEET students kin who died by suicide in 3 mos

 

NEW DELHI – Using its power under Article 142 of the Indian Constitution to do a complete justice, the Supreme Court Tuesday quashed all the first information reports in states and Union territories against the protestors demanding the resignation of then education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over irregularities in conducting the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test and other exams. The top court ordered that no state and Union territory shall register fresh first information reports against the protestors. 

 

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant passed the order keeping in view the "future prospects of the young protestors" who participated in a peaceful protest and the Centre's plea for closing all first information reports and compensating kin of students in three months. However, the top court allowed the Delhi police to register one fresh information report against the protestors who had serious criminal antecedents involving bodily harm or destruction of property. 

 

The apex court directed the Centre to formulate within three months a pan-India policy for compensation for kin of students who died by suicide and the same shall be circulated to states and implementing authorities as a regular mechanism. The families of students who died by suicide in connection with the medical entrance test in 2026 are to be compensated in three months, said the apex court.

 

After the Centre's assurance and the apex court's orders, the Cockroach Janta Party said that it will withdraw the youth march from India Gate to the Delhi Police headquarters scheduled for Saturday. The Cockroach Janta Party had announced the march led by families of deceased students who had appeared for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test and victims of police brutality after the government had failed to withdraw all first information reports against the protesters. 

 

In July, tens of thousands of protesters had marched through the streets of Lutyens's Delhi, demanding Pradhan's resignation over irregularities in the conduct of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduates) 2026 in May. Protesters breached police barricades in an attempt to march to Parliament. According to reports, around 50,000 people, mostly youngsters, confronted security forces at dozens of locations across the New Delhi police district. Police and anti-riot forces responded with batons, tear gas, and water cannons, injuring scores of protestors.

 

Thereafter, Pradhan resigned from the Cabinet. The satirical social media handle Cockroach Janta Party, which had called for the protests, announced the withdrawal of its agitation over the alleged paper leak in the pre-medical entrance examination, saying the Centre had accepted its demand.

 

The petitioners sought the Supreme Court's intervention over multiple incidents of violence during protests by demonstrators, predominantly students, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and other locations in the capital. They said the violence later spread to Maharashtra, Bihar, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, and Kerala. The petitioners also alleged that some violence was perpetrated by police personnel, both in uniform and plainclothes. 

 

Last month, the top court formed a committee headed by retired apex court judge R. Subhash Reddy to probe the violence during protests in Delhi and other states. The committee will probe the use of excessive force and violence against protestors by police authorities and other agencies, including the use of pellet guns, electric batons, lathi charges, and tear gas without adequate warning or proportionality, resulting in severe bodily harm.   End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.