- Bihar government will withdraw all cases related to NEET paper leak protests
- All FIRs, complaints, and show-cause notices before July 26, 6 am will be taken back
- The decision includes releasing all persons arrested in connection with the protests
The Bihar government on Monday announced that it will withdraw all cases lodged against protesters over the NEET paper leak and release those jailed under various charges.
A statement to this effect was issued late in the evening by the state's Home Department, which said that "no adverse legal action - punitive/retaliatory - shall be taken by the government against any individual participating in the protests before 6 pm on 26.07.2026".
According to the police, altogether 694 people had been detained for enforcing the Bihar bandh called on July 25 by pro-Left students' unions and, after letting off 339 minors, the remaining 355 were booked under relevant laws, and were facing trial before the courts concerned.
Those who were arrested by the police in connection with the unrest that began in the state on July 22, when a procession taken out by activists of AISA managed to reach the vicinity of the chief minister's residence, include CPI(ML) Liberation MLA Sandeep Saurav - who was picked up a day prior to the bandh, and former state minister Tej Pratap Yadav - who was taken into custody on Saturday evening for trying to enforce the shutdown.
The statement made it clear that the "legal process for withdrawal of all FIRs, criminal complaints and show-cause notices" against individuals who took part in the protests "will be initiated immediately".
"Furthermore, all the persons arrested/detained in connection with the cases... shall be released immediately", and "no action, directly or indirectly will be taken against such individuals in future as well", it said.
The announcement came barely a few hours after All India Students' Association (AISA) president Neha Bora, who was among those spearheading the protests at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, had called on Bihar DGP Vinay Kumar and submitted a memorandum seeking withdrawal of all the cases and release of those arrested.
She had also told reporters that the state could witness "protests on the scale of Jantar Mantar in Delhi" if the demands were not met, and voiced surprise that the Samrat Choudhary government in Bihar was allegedly acting in a high-handed manner "even as the Union government has assured there will be no coercive action".
CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, to whose party AISA is affiliated, expressed delight over the development.
Bhattacharya, who had taken part in the protests at Jantar Mantar, shared screenshots of the Bihar Home Department statement on X, saying "another retreat for the BJP, victory for the people".
Left-wing student organisations had held demonstrations across Bihar on July 25, some of which turned violent, in support of the statewide bandh against the NEET paper leak issue and police action on protesting students.
Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, had also demanded the release of all protesters detained and arrested during the Bihar bandh.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
