SC narrows 'criminal antecedents' clause from protest order; CJP says 'confusion' removed, seeks assurance from govt
After the Supreme Court said that Delhi and other states are at liberty to withdraw cases against students who took part in Cockroach Janata Party
After the Supreme Court said that Delhi and other states are at liberty to withdraw cases against students who took part in Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protests, the party's spokesperson, Saurav Das, urged the government to "honour" the assurances given on FIRs filed against students. "Now that the Supreme Court has removed confusion, we expect the Government of India and all BJP/NDA-ruled states to immediately honour the assurances given on 25 July to the young of this country," Das said in a post on X. 'Stood by every student and every protester' Das said the party had "stood by every student and every protester" throughout the protests and would continue to "closely monitor developments across states".
He said the CJP had provided "legal assistance, medical support, and every other form of help within our means" to protesters and would continue to do so. "We thank all lawyers across the country who continue to help the protesters. We also continue to closely monitor developments across states and remain in constant dialogue with senior representatives of the Union Government. We expect the assurances to be implemented in both letter and spirit," Das added. SC clarifies meaning of 'criminal antecedents' The apex court also clarified during Monday's hearing what it meant by "criminal antecedents" in its earlier order, ANI reported.
On July 28, the court had said cases against student protesters could be withdrawn, except for those with "criminal antecedents". It has now clarified that this refers only to those accused of grave and heinous offences. The clarification came after the Centre submitted that it was "serious" about not pursuing FIRs against students who participated in protests over the NEET examination paper leak, including the July 20 Parliament march in Delhi, provided they had no criminal antecedents. Also Read | RTI activist seeks probe funding of Abhijeet Dipke's US education Petitioner seeks safeguards against repeat of July 20 clashes Referring to the July 20 'Sansad Chalo' march organised by the CJP, the petitioner's counsel told the court that directions were needed to ensure such clashes do not recur at Jantar Mantar.
The counsel also referred to a recent call by AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal for a similar demonstration. "Mr Arvind Kejriwal called a town hall and decided to march to the Prime Minister's residence. Another July 20 incident should be avoided," he said.
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