The Supreme Court on Tuesday ended the uncertainty over FIRs registered against students who participated in the NEET protests in July, quashing all cases linked to the agitation. Following the move, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) called off its protest scheduled for September 5 following the Centre's reassurance of its commitment to the remaining demands.

The development came after the Centre approached the Supreme Court seeking the quashing of all FIRs registered against NEET protesters between July 20 and July 25 across the country. The apex court subsequently invoked its powers under Article 142 to quash the cases.

The Centre also told the court that compensation would be paid to the families of students who died by suicide within three months. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that the Centre was committed to honouring its assurance to provide compensation to the families of NEET aspirants who died by suicide.

For the CJP, the developments addressed two of the three demands it had placed before the Centre. It subsequently called off the September 5 protest, which had been announced over the Centre's failure to act on the demands.

CJP co-convenor Saurav Das appeared before a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana to inform the court about the decision.

The protesters had placed three key demands before the government: the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan; the withdrawal of all legal cases against protesters and organisers, along with an assurance that no fresh cases would be filed; and compensation of ₹1 crore each to the families of those who died by suicide following the NEET-UG paper leak controversy.

Of the three demands, Pradhan's resignation on July 25 had prompted the CJP to call off its protests, with the party expecting the other two demands to be implemented eventually. However, the CJP announced a second round of protests on September 5 after the Centre remained silent on the matter.

According to the CJP, the march was to be led by the families of students who died by suicide following the cancellation of the NEET exam and the subsequent re-test, as well as those who were allegedly subjected to police excesses during the July agitation.

However, despite the relief granted to student protesters, the Supreme Court has permitted the Centre and Delhi Police to register fresh FIRs against 2,873 individuals with serious criminal antecedents.
(With PTI inputs)