CJP warns of fresh protest if cases continue; Maharashtra, Bengal say ‘no coercive action’
Fadnavis directs Home Dept to begin the process to withdraw cases; bail granted to 16 in West Bengal.
CJP Spokesperson Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka along with senior advocate Kapil Sibal address a press conference over the FIRs registered against the student protesters. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal) After the Supreme Court ordered the release of minors “arrested or detained” in connection with recent student protests, while saying the authorities “may proceed with the investigation of the FIRs registered”, BJP-ruled Maharashtra and West Bengal took first steps on the cases lodged by them.
Expressing “alarm” over the Supreme Court order that allowed the FIRs to stay, the Cockroach Janta Party warned that it may restart its protest if cases were not withdrawn.
On Monday, Assam and Bihar had announced withdrawal of FIRs connected with the protests.
The Maharashtra government, which had resisted criticism over police action in the NEET protests that were largely peaceful in the state, began the process to withdraw the cases Tuesday. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, directed the Home Department to do the same, while asking police not to take coercive action against those named in the FIRs.
Twenty FIRs were registered in Mumbai alone, with more than 1,000 people booked.
In West Bengal, the government said it would not take “coercive action” against students, but cited the Supreme Court order to clarify that this “shall not extend to persons having criminal antecedents”. It added that as of July 26 evening, “one case has been registered… on the complaint of the police”, in which 16 people had been arrested. During the day, the 16 got bail from the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s court.
There are six other cases registered in Bengal, on complaints by journalists who alleged they were assaulted during the student protests.
In Congress-ruled Kerala, Chief Minister V D Satheesan directed the Home Department to examine the demand for the withdrawal of cases, soon after Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to him in this regard.
The CJP, which led the Jantar Mantar protests, said the direction that governments could proceed with existing FIRs in the Supreme Court’s order “stands in direct contradiction to the solemn assurance… extended by the government”.
“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,” the CJP’s Saurav Das posted.
Das added that the government and BJP-NDA-ruled states could still withdraw the FIRs “like done by Bihar and Assam governments”. “The power… continues to rest with the Executive,” he said, demanding “complete transparency”.
A senior Maharashtra Home Department official told The Indian Express that the CM’s directions to begin the process for the withdrawal of cases had been communicated to the DGP. “Broadly, this means there will be no detentions, police will not visit the houses of the accused and no coercive measures will be taken while the government works out the legal process for withdrawal,” the official said.
A day earlier, even as police notices to protesters were sent out, officials had maintained the investigations could not be halted until formal directions were issued.
Home Department officials said the government was still examining the legal route, and that the CM’s direction alone does not automatically terminate the FIRs. “While such cases are usually withdrawn at the prosecution stage after the chargesheet is filed, filing closure reports is also an option,” a senior official said.
Those arrested in Bengal had been accused of violence during the protests in Kolkata, with CM Suvendu Adhikari earlier vowing strict action against them.
During the hearing Tuesday on their bail, the defence lawyers brought up the understanding between the government and CJP, the case withdrawals in Bihar and Assam, and the Supreme Court order. But the investigating official argued that five of the 16 had been involved in criminal incidents in the past. Senior police officials earlier said the 16 were not students, but “trouble mongers”.
The defence asked if any of them had been convicted in any of the charges, to which no definitive answer was provided by the prosecution. In the order granting bail, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate said: “There is prima facie no material… to show that any of the accused persons have a criminal background.”
In Kerala, the CMO said Satheesan’s letter had been handed over to the Home Department for further action. While Vijayan claimed that around 5,000 people had been booked across the state, police sources said the exact number of cases was not known, though most were bailable offences for unlawful assembly or gathering at public places.
Vijayan pointed out that Satheesan himself had joined the Congress agitation in Delhi in support of the students. “It is inappropriate that the government led by you in Kerala has filed cases.”
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