Supreme Court quashes FIRs against CJP protesters under Article 142, CJP calls off September 5 march

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, invoked its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to quash all FIRs registered across the country against students who participated in the nationwide protests linked to the NEET-UG 2026 examination paper leak. The order, issued by a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, led the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to call off its scheduled September 5 protest march in New Delhi.

What the Court ordered

The Court quashed all FIRs described in the applications before it, filed by Delhi Police and the governments of Maharashtra, Bihar, Assam, and West Bengal. It further directed that any other FIR registered in any State or Union Territory relating to the same protest incidents between July 20 and July 25, 2026, "shall not be pursued or investigated" and "shall be taken to have been closed for all intents and purposes."

No State or Union Territory was permitted to register any fresh FIR in connection with the same incidents, save and except as permitted by the Court.

The Court also directed the Central Government to formulate, in consultation with State Governments and Union Territories, a pan-India policy for payment of compensation to the families of students who committed suicide in connection with the NEET-UG 2026 examination, within 90 days.

The carve-out: 2,873 individuals

The Court permitted Delhi Police to register a fresh FIR concerning 2,873 individuals identified in the police application. According to the Delhi Police, these individuals were allegedly found to have serious criminal antecedents as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) database and were prima facie reported to be present at the protest site. The proposed investigation concerns allegations including bodily harm and destruction of property. The Court clarified that this did not amount to a finding of guilt; the allegations remain matters for investigation.

CJP's response

CJP co-convenor Saurav Das told the court that the September 5 march would be called off following the order. CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka told the Indian Express that the movement had been "re-assured by the top court" and that the assurances on dropping of cases and compensation to those injured had become a matter of judicial record.

"I am pretty sure the government will honour what was being aligned in the Supreme Court... let us hope it doesn't come down to that. There is still very much democracy in the country, and there is respect for the institutions, especially the judiciary," Ranka said.

What we can verify

The Court's order is a matter of public record. The quashing of FIRs, the pan-India prohibition on fresh FIRs for the July 20–25 window, the 90-day deadline for a student-suicide compensation policy, and the permission for a separate investigation into the 2,873 named individuals are all confirmed by multiple independent sources — the Indian Express, SCC Times, The Hindu, India Today, and Outlook India — each citing the Bench's published order and the statements made before it by the Solicitor General, Delhi Police, and the CJP co-convenor.

What remains unverified

The exact number of FIRs quashed beyond the 13 filed by Delhi Police and those in the four applicant States; the specific compensation amounts that will be set in the pan-India policy; and the status of the HPC inquiry into police excesses at Jantar Mantar, which remains a separate proceeding. These elements require court filings or government briefs not yet in the public domain.