- Supreme Court has barred coercive action against students in NEET protest cases
- Police may file FIRs but must release students without criminal records immediately
- The top court excluded individuals with criminal backgrounds from protection
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered states not to take any coercive action against students who participated in the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protests calling for the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan from the post of Education Minister following the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak.
The police can file a First Information Report (FIR), but no coercive action should be taken for now, the Court said and ordered the release of those detained with no prior criminal record. The Court, however, excluded individuals with criminal backgrounds and did not clarify what action, if any, could be taken against them.
The directions came while a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana was hearing a batch of petitions alleging excessive force by police during protests that began at Jantar Mantar and other places in Delhi and later spread to Maharashtra, Bihar, Gujarat, Assam, West Bengal and Kerala.
The petitions allege that students protesting over the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak were subjected to a lathi charge, use of pellet guns, tear gas and electric weapons, in violation of Articles 14, 19, 20 and 21 of the Constitution.
The Court observed that prima facie, the allegations placed before it warrant an independent and impartial probe.
The top Court also ordered the preservation of all CCTV, drone, body-camera, wireless communication and police control room (PCR) records related to the student protests across the country. The police have been asked to ensure that the digital data of protesters is preserved and not released in the public domain.
No personal data or details of protesters should be published, the Court clarified.
The Court also sought the appearance of the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police (DGP) at the next hearing scheduled for Monday, August 3.
