"Expect written guarantee on withdrawal of FIRs against protesters today": CJP spokesperson Saurav Das

Speaking to ANI, Saurav Das welcomed the Supreme Court's order directing all States to release students below the age of 18 who were arrested or detained during the nationwide protests over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak, provided they have no criminal antecedents.

The CJP spokesperson said, "If the Supreme Court is acting in the interest of the youth, we welcome such orders or judgments. We, on the other hand, have been active on the ground for a long time, and we have certain demands that must be met; that is the most important thing. One of our key demands was that all FIRs against protesters be withdrawn and that the government refrain from taking any retaliatory action against any protester in the future. We expected a written guarantee regarding this to be issued by today (by Tuesday), and for all those detained or arrested to be released."

CJP had announced Tuesday as the deadline for the withdrawal of FIRs against protesters across India.

Saurav Das added that if their demands were not met, the youth will be compelled to come out on the streets again.

"Proper language should be used. We had a concern: if we included caveats or conditions, that was a primary demand of ours. We held a press conference yesterday evening where we announced that if the government fails to keep its word, we will be compelled to call for a major protest in Delhi once again. Whatever the Supreme Court says should be 'in addition' to our demands. Our demands must be met first; the government should then comply with whatever the Supreme Court says or whatever relief it grants. That is our demand," he said.

CJP had led a 37-day-long protest at Jantar Mantar, with activist Sonam Wangchuk's 26-day hunger strike. The government agreed to their demands, and Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as the education minister. The government also agreed to provide suitable compensation to the aspirants who died by suicide and withdrawal of FIRs against protesters.

Meanwhile, the apex court also directed that no coercive action be taken against students for the time being, ordered preservation of all electronic evidence relating to the protests, and observed that the allegations placed before it prima facie warrant an independent and impartial probe.

"All States are directed to release children below the age of 18 who have been arrested or detained during the student protests and who do not have any criminal antecedents", the Court said.

The court directed that persons arrested in connection with the student protests who do not have criminal antecedents shall also be released, while permitting investigation in the cases to continue in accordance with law.

The directions came while a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana was hearing a batch of petitions alleging excessive force by police during protests that began at Jantar Mantar and other places in Delhi and later spread to Maharashtra, Bihar, Gujarat, Assam, West Bengal and Keralam.

Saurav Das also hit back at BJP MP Kangana Ranaut for her remarks against the youth protesters.

He said, "Even members of her own party don't pay much heed to Kangana Ranaut or take her seriously, so why should we? I don't think anyone in Gen Z, Gen Alpha, or any younger generation takes her seriously or listens to what she says. She is a politician now. There were videos from when she visited her constituency in Himachal Pradesh where she remarked that she had expected the job to require very little work, only to realise that being a Member of Parliament involves a massive amount of labour. That speaks volumes about her own seriousness."

Actor-politician Kangana Ranaut had criticised the recent student protests against NEET examination irregularities, saying the use of "obscene language" and personal attacks during demonstrations were "completely unacceptable" to society.

Ranaut also shared a series of posts on her Instagram Stories, calling the protest videos "puke-inducing." The BJP MP criticised the protesters' style and language. (ANI)