A Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V Mohana permitted states to close FIRs against peaceful NEET protesters.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta confirmed the Union government will not pursue FIRs against students, excluding over 2,700 individuals with grave criminal antecedents.
The apex court clarified that criminal antecedents refer strictly to grave and heinous offences, protecting students with minor infractions like driving violations.
States Can Close FIRs Against Peaceful NEET Student Protesters: SC
The top court specified that "criminal antecedents" refers strictly to "grave and heinous offences" to protect students with minor infractions like driving violations
Summary
Delhi and other state governments can close or withdraw FIRs against students who participated in protests against the NEET paper leak, provided they do not have records of grave and heinous offences, the Supreme Court clarified on Monday, PTI reported. The bench which gave the clarification comprised of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana.
The top court specified that "criminal antecedents" refers strictly to "grave and heinous offences" to protect students with minor infractions like driving violations, livelaw reported.
The apex court has scheduled the next hearing for August 18, 2026.
Excluding Serious Offenders
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the Union government is committed to not pursuing FIRs against peaceful student protesters.
However, FIRs registered against more than 2,700 people with antecedents involving grave and heinous offences will not be withdrawn, Mehta saId. Thus, relief will not extend to those with hardened criminal histories.
As of August 3, 2026, neither the Union government nor the Supreme Court has publicly detailed the specific statutory categories defining these "grave and heinous offences".
Allegations of Police Excess
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan submitted 300 videos of police excesses to the court and said police beat even lawyers' children 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," Sankaranarayanan said.
The clashes broke out during the July 20, 2026 CJP-led march in Delhi when security personnel used lathis and teargas shells to disperse crowds attempting to march toward Parliament.
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The Supreme Court previously ruled that police excesses or lathi charges cannot be justified merely because there is an agitation, and emphasised that the right to peaceful protest is "absolutely guaranteed".
(With Inputs From PTI)
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