{"id":122384,"date":"2026-09-02T11:20:37","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T05:50:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=122384"},"modified":"2026-09-02T11:20:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T05:50:37","slug":"sc-quashes-neet-protest-firs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/sc-quashes-neet-protest-firs\/","title":{"rendered":"SC Quashes NEET Protest FIRs, Article 142, Latest News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Supreme Court<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has ordered the closure of FIRs registered against students and young people who participated in protests related to the <\/span><b>NEET-UG paper leak issue<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The Court used its <\/span><b>extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to provide relief to protesters who had participated bona fide in the demonstrations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ruling is important from the perspective of <\/span><b>fundamental rights, the right to protest, judicial powers and Article 142<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.7<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Why in News?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Supreme Court<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> invoked <\/span><b>Article 142<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to quash FIRs registered against students and other protesters who participated in <\/span><b>NEET-UG protests between July 20 and 25, 2026<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Article 142 of Indian Constitution<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/article-142\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Article 142 of Indian Constitution<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> gives the Supreme Court the power to pass orders necessary for doing <\/span><b>\u201ccomplete justice\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in any case or matter pending before it.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Complete Justice:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Enables the Court to provide effective relief where ordinary legal remedies may be inadequate.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Extraordinary Power:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Gives the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/supreme-court-of-india\/\" target=\"_blank\">Supreme Court<\/a><\/strong> a <\/span><b>wide discretionary power<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to meet the ends of justice.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Enforcement:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Orders passed under Article 142 are <\/span><b>enforceable throughout India<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Scope:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Can be used to address situations where existing laws do not provide an adequate remedy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Limitations:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The power cannot be used to <\/span><b>override substantive law<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or violate constitutional provisions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Case-Specific:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Its application depends on the <\/span><b>facts and circumstances<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of each case.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Also Read:- <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/jantar-mantar\/\" target=\"_blank\">Jantar Mantar<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><b>Article 19 and the Right to Peaceful Protest<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>Article 19<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> guarantees citizens important <\/span><b>fundamental freedoms<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including freedom of speech and expression and the right to assemble peacefully. These freedoms provide the constitutional basis for <\/span><b>peaceful protests<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but they are subject to reasonable restrictions.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Article 19(1)(a):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Guarantees <\/span><b>freedom of speech and expression<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, allowing citizens to express opinions, criticism and dissent.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Article 19(1)(b):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Guarantees the <\/span><b>right to assemble peacefully and without arms<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which forms an important basis for peaceful demonstrations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Article 19(2):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Nothing in Article 19(1)(a) prevents the State from making laws imposing <\/span><b>reasonable restrictions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on freedom of speech and expression in the interests of <\/span><b>sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or in relation to <\/span><b>contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Article 19(3):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Permits <\/span><b>reasonable restrictions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on the right to peaceful assembly in the interests of <\/span><b>sovereignty and integrity of India and public order<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Not an Absolute Right:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The right to protest does not include a right to engage in <\/span><b>violence, destruction of property or serious disruption of public order<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Democratic Importance:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Peaceful protests enable citizens to <\/span><b>express dissent, raise public concerns and hold authorities accountable<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Also Read:- <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/right-to-protest-in-india\/\" target=\"_blank\">Right to Protest in India<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><b>Important Case Laws Related to Article 142<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Union Carbide Corporation v. Union of India (1991):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The Supreme Court used <\/span><b>Article 142<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to facilitate a settlement in the <\/span><b>Bhopal Gas Tragedy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> case and emphasised its power to ensure <\/span><b>complete justice<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Supreme Court Bar Association v. Union of India (1998):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The Court held that <\/span><b>Article 142 cannot be used to override substantive law<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and cannot be exercised in a manner that violates existing legal provisions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Laxmi Kant Pandey v. Union of India (1984):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The Court used its powers to establish <\/span><b>guidelines for inter-country adoption<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, protecting the interests of children.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (1997):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> In the absence of a specific law on workplace sexual harassment, the Supreme Court issued the <\/span><b>Vishaka Guidelines<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> using its constitutional powers, including Article 142.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Shilpa Sailesh v. Varun Sreenivasan (2023):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The Supreme Court held that it can use <\/span><b>Article 142 to dissolve a marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, without requiring the consent of both parties in appropriate cases.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Article 142 of Indian Constitution empowers the Supreme Court to ensure complete justice, including relief in NEET-UG protest FIRs, while balancing fundamental rights and legal limits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":122395,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[786],"tags":[9954,9955,9953],"class_list":["post-122384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-general-studies","tag-neet-protest-firs","tag-sc-quashes","tag-sc-quashes-neet-protest-firs","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122384"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122391,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122384\/revisions\/122391"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}