NEW DELHI: Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) spokesperson Saurav Das on Tuesday criticised the interim directions issued by the Supreme Court, which allowed investigation in the FIRs against protesters to continue but without any coercive action at this stage.
Saurav Das, in an X post, said that the court’s direction may be used by the State governments as an argument to not withdraw the FIRs against protesters, which was one of the CJP’s core demands.
He urged the NDA-ruled state governments, like in Assam and Bihar, to withdraw the FIRs against protesters to honour the assurance provided by the Centre to the CJP, as the court has not mandated continuation of police action.
Stating Tuesday as the deadline to withdraw the FIRs, he reiterated that the CJP might be compelled to come out on a protest again if the demand remains unfulfilled.
In a statement on X, Das said, “The interim order passed by the Supreme Court of India in the batch of PILs related to the CJP protest must ring alarm bells across the country. In particular, Direction No. 4, which permits governments to proceed with existing FIRs and carry out investigations, raises extremely serious concerns.
This direction stands in direct contradiction to the solemn assurance and guarantee extended by the Government of India to the youth of this nation on 25 July 2026, namely, that the FIRs would be withdrawn and that no protester would be directly or indirectly targeted for participating in the peaceful movement.”
Further, Saurav Das criticised the lawyers representing the Centre in the apex court for not opposing the court’s directions in accordance with the assurance given to the youth protesters.
“It was on the strength of that solemn assurance, and in complete good faith, that the Cockroach Janta Party called off its nationwide protest. We now have a credible apprehension that the Government of India and BJP-ruled states may seek to use and weaponise this order of the Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant to continue FIRs against individual protesters and subject them to great harassment. This was precisely our concern from day one: that courts could be used, directly or indirectly, to achieve political ends by targeting peaceful dissent. Equally troubling is the fact that the interim order was not opposed by the government’s lawyers, despite the Central Government being fully aware that talks/assurances with the CJP had continued until as recently as late last night and that a solemn agreement had already been arrived at on 25 July,” he added.
He stated that the interim order does not limit the state government from withdrawing the FIRs and the power continues to rest with the executive.
He said, “The court’s uninformed order is therefore wholly unacceptable. A solemn public assurance given to thousands of young students and protesters cannot be diluted, undermined, or rendered meaningless through subsequent legal developments, in a surreptitious manner. It only results in a breach of public trust. In any event, nothing in the interim order prevents the Government of India or the concerned BJP/NDA ruled State Governments from withdrawing the FIRs or deciding not to proceed against peaceful protesters, as done by the Bihar and Assam governments.”
“The power to withdraw or not pursue such cases continues to rest with the executive. The court has not mandated that governments must definitely continue with the FIRs. That would be a deliberate misreading. The Government must not invoke the Court’s order as a justification for reneging on the commitment it made on 25 July. We therefore demand that the Government of India and the concerned BJP/NDA State Governments immediately place the terms of this solemn assurance before the Supreme Court in the pending proceedings so that there is complete transparency regarding the commitments already made to the youth of this country and so that the court can withdraw and make an informed order in the future,” Das added.
Reiterating the deadline, he stated, “The youth of India entered into this understanding in good faith. That good faith must not be betrayed. Institutions of constitutional importance must never be politicised and weaponised to not honour the guarantees. The deadline for the Government of India to honour its guarantees expires today. We once again call upon it to fulfil every commitment it made: withdraw the FIRs, ensure that no protester is subjected to future punitive action, and honour both the letter and the spirit of the assurance that brought an end to the protest.”
“Failing this, and as previously declared, the Cockroach Janta Party will have no option but to resume its nationwide protest to protect the students and young protesters who stood up not for themselves alone, but for the future of this nation. A government that breaks its word cannot expect the youth to remain silent. If the guarantees are dishonoured, the streets of India will once again become the voice of its young,” the CJP leader added.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke also said that warned that the outfit will respond to the “harassment of students” with a “massive protest soon”.
“If the harassment of students at the hands of the police continues, the Cockroach Janta Party will respond with a massive peaceful protest soon. The Govt must stop targeting and witch-hunting students,” Dipke said on X.
CJP had led a 37-day-long protest at Jantar Mantar, with activist Sonam Wangchuk’s 26-day hunger strike against the NEET-UG paper leak. 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 withdraw FIRs against protesters.
Earlier today, the Supreme Court directed 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 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.
The Court has further 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.
