Synopsis: The bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana passed the directions invoking the Court’s special powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 1 September, ordered that FIRs registered nationwide over the student protests held between 20 July and 25 July should not be pursued or investigated and must be treated as closed for all intents and purposes.
According to Livelaw, the Court quashed the FIRs over student protests specified in the applications filed by the Centre (Delhi Police), Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Assam, and extended the order pan-India.
It also ordered that no state or Union Territory shall register any fresh FIR in relation to protest incidents between July 20 and 25.
The bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana passed the directions invoking the Court’s special powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India.
Meanwhile, the court also clarified that the order was passed in view of the peculiar facts of the case and should not be treated as a precedent.
Cockroach Janta Party co-convener Saurav Das said the development was a major victory for the young generation once again.
A MAJOR VICTORY FOR THE YOUNG GENERATION ONCE AGAIN.
The Government of India and other BJP/NDA ruled states requested the Supreme Court to use its extraordinary powers under Article 142 to quash all existing FIRs against ALL protesters in ALL states. The… pic.twitter.com/uSuZ6AwcLy
Further responding to Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, noting that the Centre has acted on its assurances and that CJP is expected to call off the protest march it has announced in Delhi on 5 September, Cockroach Janata Party spokesperson Saurav Das read out a statement on behalf of the CJP.
“As co-convener of the CJP, I want to state that in view of the positive assurances of the Government of India and the judicial sanctity bestowed upon them today, and in view of the order being passed by this Court, the CJP deems it appropriate to withdraw the call for the march on September 5 and looks forward to compliance with today’s order. I also thank the Court for this decision and the learned counsel on both sides, Ms Vrinda Grover and the Solicitor General, for their efforts.”
However, the Court has allowed the Delhi Police to pursue one FIR against 2,873 individuals who were present in the Jantar Mantar protests as they had serious criminal antecedents.
For the past month, I have literally been carrying this worry with me. Despite the historic victory on July 25, one thing that deeply troubled me was the number of FIRs registered across different states and the many people who kept reaching out to us for legal help.