Daijiworld Media Network – Chennai
Chennai, Aug 2: The Tamil Nadu government has decided to withdraw all cases registered against students who participated in the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protests over alleged irregularities in the NEET (UG) examination, School Education Minister A Rajmohan announced on Sunday.
Rajmohan said the decision was taken on the directions of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay.
"As per the directions of the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, all cases registered against students who protested against the NEET examination will be withdrawn. Further details will be announced shortly. Heartfelt gratitude to the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu," the minister said in a post on X.
The decision comes in the wake of nationwide protests led by the CJP over the alleged NEET paper leak. The agitation at Delhi's Jantar Mantar was called off last month following the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Subsequently, the CJP demanded that the first information reports (FIRs) registered against protesting students be formally withdrawn rather than merely closed.
The party maintained that students who took part in the protests were "not terrorists" and should not face legal harassment. It also warned that the agitation could be revived if the FIRs were not withdrawn.
The Centre later agreed to the demand, following which several states, including Delhi, Bihar and Assam, announced the withdrawal of cases against student protesters. The respective state governments also said that those who had been arrested or detained during the protests would be released immediately.
Speaking to PTI on Thursday, CJP national spokesperson Saurav Das said the Delhi government's notification stated that the FIRs would not be pursued further and would be treated as closed, but argued that they should instead have been officially withdrawn.
He also rejected the government's interpretation of the Supreme Court's order, saying it did not prevent the withdrawal of FIRs and urged the Centre to honour the assurances given to protesters on July 25.