Welcome move: On the Supreme Court and Gen Z protesters

In what should be termed a salutary gesture, the Supreme Court of India, at the request of the Union government, invoked its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to quash criminal cases against the youth who had taken part in nationwide protests seeking examination reforms and government accountability. Led by a group, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), in response to Chief Justice of India’s “unemployment” and “cockroaches” remark — these protests swelled in numbers and reach, forcing the then Union Minister of Education, Dharmendra Pradhan, to resign. Among the demands for halting the agitations was the CJP’s call to withdraw the FIRs against protesters in Delhi and other States/Union Territories, which the Court has granted, while directing the Centre to ensure that no fresh FIRs are registered over the protests in July. That the Centre asked for this step by the Court shows how the CJP’s agitations resonated with the youth of the country, who agreed with the movement’s core demands. It is also an acknowledgment by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government that this is a pressing issue that revealed its failings, particularly the series of paper leaks across India over the years, compounded by an employment deficit for youth.The Centre’s stand in the CJP matter is in stark contrast to how it has dealt with dissent on other issues that have driven thousands to protest in recent years. The most prominent among these were the farmer-led protests in and around Delhi, and the agitations against the communally motivated Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Both were largely peaceful, but this did not prevent the government from foisting serious charges including those related to terrorism and sedition, on peaceful protesters, many of whom remain in jail without trial or bail. Legitimate protest has long been a means of defusing pent-up discontent with government policies in India. The Centre has instead sought to criminalise it, branding dissent and disaffection as sedition to create a chilling effect. The CJP managed to overcome that ploy not only through the justness of its demands but also because the protesters’ identities as youth and students transcended the limited categories of religion, caste and even class (“richer farmers”) that the BJP sought to use to sow discord and delegitimise them. Even if it is too much to expect the Centre to seek similar relief for those held in earlier cases, the Court would do well to apply to them the standard it has now set for the CJP. Until it does, the relief granted to the CJP and its sympathisers will remain an exception rather than a principle. Published - September 04, 2026 12:20 am IST