SUPREME COURT HALTS COERCIVE MEASURES AGAINST STUDENTS, ORDERS INDEPENDENT SIT PROBE INTO NEET PROTEST VIOLENCE:

The Supreme Court has indicated its inclination to order an independent and fair probe into the widespread violence and alleged police excesses during student protests over the NEET 2026 paper leak. The Court noted that allegations of excessive force, including the use of pellet guns, rubber bullets, and nail-embedded lathis, prima facie make out a case for a comprehensive inquiry that also addresses attacks on on-duty police personnel. While issuing notices to the Union Government, the NCT of Delhi, and seven major States to place their responses on record, the apex court issued interim directions prohibiting coercive action against students without criminal antecedents, ordering the immediate release of all detained minors, and mandating the preservation of all digital evidence and CCTV footage.

The Court was hearing a batch of writ petitions and intervention applications concerning alleged police excesses against students protesting the NEET paper leak, alongside pleas highlighting violence against on-duty police personnel. The Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana observed that the right to peaceful protest is an essential constitutional guarantee that cannot be denied, while emphasizing that injury to any individual, whether a student or a police officer, is of equal concern. It recorded that the allegations of excesses in violation of fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19, 21 and 22, including indiscriminate use of force such as lathi charges, pellet guns and tear gas in Delhi and other States, warranted an independent probe. Specific instances cited included a boy allegedly losing eyesight from pellet injuries, injuries from rubber bullets and electric batons, permanent disability caused by nail-embedded lathis, and assaults on media persons. The Court also took note of counter-allegations that protesters or anti-social elements had engaged in stone-pelting and violence against police personnel performing their duties.

In its interim directions the Court ordered that all CCTV, drone, body-worn camera, wireless communication records and PCR call details be preserved. It directed the respondents and police to ensure that digital data of protesters is safeguarded and not released into the public domain, and that no personal details of protesters are published. No coercive action is to be taken against protesting students, though this protection does not extend to persons with criminal antecedents. All States were directed to immediately release children below the age of eighteen who had been arrested during the protests. Notices were issued to the Chief Secretaries of Maharashtra, Bihar, Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with a short time granted to the Union and the NCT of Delhi to file affidavits with relevant material before any final order on the constitution of a probe.

Senior counsel for the petitioners highlighted the pan-India nature of the agitations spanning multiple States and urged the Court to fix higher command responsibility and to frame uniform guidelines on the regulation of protests, drawing parallels with earlier precedents such as the Ramlila Maidan incident. References were made to videos and media reports allegedly showing threats of planting narcotics evidence on students and instances of gender-based violence. The Solicitor General submitted that the Government was ready for an independent committee and sought a few days to place complete facts on record so that the Court could have a holistic picture. The Court indicated that the time had come to collate and update existing principles on the right to protest into a judicial protocol suited to contemporary conditions. The matter remains pending further consideration after the responses are received.